The war against ephedra is nothing more than a smoke screen to distract people from the far more dangerous effects of prescription drugs. If prescription drugs and over the counter drugs were measured by the same yardstick, more than half of all drugs would be banned outright.
Prescription drugs cause more than 100,000 deaths each year. They injure 2.2 million people each year. And over-the-counter drug are no better: ibuprofen and other NSAIDS account for more than 40,000 deaths each year from gastrointestinal hemorrhaging. And yet nobody in Congress is calling for these
drugs to be pulled off the market, and
the FDA mysteriously allows their continued sale, knowing full well that the number of deaths caused by
prescription drugs is enormous.
Ephedra has admittedly resulted in the
deaths of a handful of people. Ibuprofen has killed hundreds of thousands, even according to medicine's own research as published in JAMA and other "scientific" journals. If this is really about science and protecting the public, as is claimed by supporters of the
ban, then why not protect the public from dangerous pharmaceuticals at the same time?
The answer, of course, is that
profits must be protected first. In the world of
medicine, it's profits first, and customers second. And if you can generate another billion dollars in profit in exchange for a few thousand deaths, then it's business as usual in Big Medicine, not unlike Big Tobacco.
The only substances under real scrutiny by the
FDA are those that threaten the profits of the
drug companies. And this brings us to the real mission of the FDA: to protect drug company profits, not the
health of the public.
In reality, the FDA is far more dangerous to your health than
ephedra.
About the author: Mike Adams is a natural health researcher, author and award-winning journalist with a strong interest in personal health, the environment and the power of nature to help us all heal He has authored more than 1,800 articles and dozens of reports, guides and interviews on natural health topics, reaching millions of readers with information that is saving lives and improving personal health around the world. Adams is an honest, independent journalist and accepts no money or commissions on the third-party products he writes about or the companies he promotes. In 2010, Adams launched NaturalNews.TV, a natural health video site featuring videos on holistic health and green living. He's also a noted pioneer in the email marketing software industry, having been the first to launch an HTML email newsletter technology that has grown to become a standard in the industry. Adams also serves as the executive director of the Consumer Wellness Center, a non-profit consumer protection group, and practices nature photography, Capoeira, martial arts and organic gardening. Known as the 'Health Ranger,' Adams' personal health statistics and mission statements are located at www.HealthRanger.org
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