Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 REPPED: More than four out of five Americans think drug companies have too much influence over the Food and Drug Administration, and 84 percent believe that advertisements for prescription drugs with safety concerns should be outlawed, reveals a striking new survey from consumer reports.
The survey results, released today, are based on a telephone survey of 1,026 American adults conducted by the consumer reports National Research Center. They reveal the Food and Drug Administration to be alarmingly out of touch with the concerns of the American people. |
| Drug companies are running amok, and this new consumer reports survey reveals that consumers are finally fed up with it.
Action Items:
Support the Health Freedom Protection Act introduced by Rep. Ron Paul. Learn more at http://www.stopFDAcensorship. |
| Some of the most interesting results include:
96 percent agreed the government should have the power to require warning labels on drugs with known safety problems. As consumer reports explains, "Right now, the Food and Drug Administration must negotiate safety warning labels with a drug maker."
84 percent agree that drug companies have "too much influence over the government officials who regulate them." More than two-thirds of those surveyed are concerned that drug companies actually pay the FDA to review and approve their drugs. |
Kevin Trudeau
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 Consumer Reports policy is that the ratings, nor the reports, nor any other information ... can be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose ..." It went on to say that I could sell the consumer reports publications, which promoted products by brand name, because they are "objective, factual representations that set forth their product testing results." They went on to say that the consumer reports publications were not promoting any branded product and were not directly or indirectly an advertisement for any product, program, or service. Great! |
Bill Sardi
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 In 1976, consumer reports said the use of hormone replacement had almost tripled from 1965 to 1976 and during that same time period the incidence of cancer increased in women over age 50 who were in high-socioeconomic groups- the same group most likely to use estrogen therapy.
"Earlier reports suggested estrogen might protect against breast cancer; most recent studies suggest the opposite." [Consumer Reports 41: 642-45, 1976] Estrogen therapy was supposed to be restricted solely to women with vaginal shrinkage and a few other narrow indications. |
Kevin Trudeau
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| So the FTC immediately reversed their position, but the reason was because " consumer reports accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers." It also went on to say that I could sell these consumer reports publications that promoted products because "more than 100 testing experts work in seven major technical departments ... with more than 25 research experts working in three different... and further that the consumer reports policy is that the ratings, nor the reports, nor any other information ... |
| I then sent a letter, on September 28, 2004, and asked them if I could sell consumer reports magazine and the consumer reports Buyers Guides. The FTC wrote back and said yes I can even though these publications give products by brand name, obviously promote and recommend those products for purchase and give ordering information. So the FTC immediately reversed their position, but the reason was because " consumer reports accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. |
| They went on to say that the consumer reports publications were not promoting any branded product and were not directly or indirectly an advertisement for any product, program, or service. Great! So I told the Federal Trade Commission that I was going to write my own buyers guide; I was going to be like Consumer Reports*. They said categorically no. I guess they don't think I can be objective. Who is the FTC to determine whose results are objective or not? |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Consumers Union, the publisher of consumer reports, issued a press release warning about this new White House action. Bill Vaughn, a senior health policy with Consumers Union, stated in that press release, "At a time when parents can't even trust their kids' toys to be safe, it doesn't make sense the White House would oppose legislation to help make prescription drugs safer. |
Paula Begoun and Bryan Barron
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 But as consumer reports (August 2003, page 61) stated, "With no hearings or public discussion, the USDA extended its rules on organic labeling to cosmetics. There are now shampoos and body lotions labeled 70% organic based on the fact that their main ingredient is ... water in which something organic, such as an organic lavender leaf, has been soaked."
It takes only a quick look at the ingredients list on a cosmetic to notice that there are a lot of words that are completely unrelated to anything resembling a plant, much less a plant that can be labeled "organic. |
Jeffrey M. Smith
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 Michael Hansen, Consumers Union, publishers of consumer reports "Horizontal transfer of the CaMV promoter ... has the potential to reactivate dormant viruses or [create] new viruses in all species to which it is transferred." Ho, Ryan, and Cummins in, "Cauliflower Mosaic Viral Promoter—A Recipe for Disaster"
The promoter is stable. Studies indicate that the pro- [A promoter can have] "the same impact as a heavy moter may create a "hotspot" in dose of gamma radiation." Joe Cummins, geneticist the DNA, whereby the whole DNA section, or chromosome, can become unstable. |
Kevin Trudeau
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| It also went on to say that I could sell these consumer reports publications that promoted products because "more than 100 testing experts work in seven major technical departments ... with more than 25 research experts working in three different... and further that the consumer reports policy is that the ratings, nor the reports, nor any other information ... can be used in advertising or for any other commercial purpose ... |
Charles Barber
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 Even if the ads are pulled, a lot of folks will now be asking their doctor for that drug, which could have risks that weren't fully explained," says Bill Vaughan, a senior policy analyst for Consumers Union, which publishes consumer reports.*2
Beyond that, the FDA lacks the capacity to actually fine companies for marketing abuses. All the FDA can do is send warning letters. The first type of letter, an "untitled letter," essentially says "shame on you," and stop running the ads. |
Mark Sircus
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 Consumer Reports (Feb. 2006):
28 Genetically Engineered Food Biotech, Biotechnology, GMO, Genetically Modified (www.organicconsumers.org/gelink.html)
29 Health Hazards of Genetically Manipulated Foods; www.soyinfo.com/haz/gehaz. shtml
30 Dr. Irina Ermakova added flour from a GM soya bean - produced by Monsanto to be resistant to its pesticide, Roundup - to the food of female rats, starting two weeks before they conceived, continuing through pregnancy, birth and nursing. Others were given non-GM soya and a third group was given no soya at all. |
Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
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 Sharper Image got in trouble a few years back when consumer reports complained their Ionic air purifiers produced too much dangerous ozone. A class action settlement followed, and now the Sharper Image air purifiers have a catalytic converter that virtually eliminates ozone.
But personally, I like the IQAir a lot better than the Sharper Image air purifiers. IQAir moves a lot of air, and after reviewing these units, I simply don't believe that you can clean a large volume of air unless you're moving a large volume of air through a filtration unit. |
Stacy Malkan
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 Product tests conducted by consumer reports in January 2007 found the phthalates DEP and DEHP in all eight of eight perfumes tested.15 The Not Too Pretty report found phthalates in 72% of personal care products, including fragrance-containing shampoos, deodorants and hair gels. None of the products listed phthalates on the label.16
• Sensitizers. One in every 50 people may suffer immune system damage from fragrance and become sensitized, according to the EU's
Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-food Products. |
Anne Harrington
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 The year 1993 also saw the publication by consumer reports of a guide coedited by Daniel Goleman and Joel Gurin: Mind Body Medicine: How to Use Your Mind for Better Health.4 Originally envisioned as a companion volume to Healing and the Mind (and financed by the same organization, the Fetzer Institute, that partly funded the Moyers series), it helped to solidify "mind-body medicine" as the new preferred term of choice for this approach to healing. |
Bottom Line Health
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| Also, seek out reputable sources of independent information, including...
• Consumer Reports'free Web site, wwwcrbest buydrugs.org, which provides information to help make cost-effective prescription drug choices.
•The Medical Letter, a publication for physicians and other health-care professionals that publishes critical appraisals of new drugs and comparative reviews of older drugs. 800-211-2769, www. medicalletter. org.
•Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy organization that has information on hundreds of drugs in its book, Worst Pills Best Pills, and on its free Web site, www.worstpills. |
Andreas Moritz
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 Many people now drink decaffeinated coffee in the belief this protects them against the addictive effects of caffeine. consumer reports recently tested cups of decaf coffee ordered six of the most popular coffee shops in the United States. A regular cup of coffee has from 85 to 100 milligrams of caffeine, while decaf coffee has from 5 to 32 milligrams of caffeine (about the same amount contained in 12 ounces of Coca-Cola Classic). |
| According to consumer reports, aspartame has a shelf life of between two and three months. After that it begins to break down and pose an increasing danger to the consumer. The same occurs when aspartame or an aspartame-containing food is heated.
Aspartame accounts for more than 75 percent of the total adverse reactions to food reported to the U.S. Federal Drug Administration. Hundreds of airline pilots have reported symptoms of memory loss and confusion, headaches, seizures, visual disturbances and gastrointestinal reactions as a result of consuming sweeteners. |
Peter J. Whitehouse and Daniel George
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 As with many herbals, it difficult to know the composition of the substances that you're buying. consumer reports, for example, has identified that there is wide variability in the amount of active ingredients in various ginkgo products sold over-the-counter. Two companies in Europe developed a standardized variant of ginkgo that has been used in many therapeutic trials. One of those trials—a four-year randomized control trial on the effects of the herb—is currently being conducted at the University of Pittsburgh.
Ginseng. |
Shannon Brownlee
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 Nobody will pay Mercedes-Benz prices for a Hyundai when they can turn to consumer reports to comparison shop. But in health care, there's so little comparative information that we pay Mercedes-Benz prices for most devices and new drugs, and for many procedures. The AHRQ, the agency that rose from the ashes of the AHCPR, could provide the kind of information that payers, doctors, and patients need.
In order for the AHRQ to do that, Congress must be persuaded to beef up funding substantially from its current pitiful annual budget of three hundred and eighteen million dollars. |
| In one recent consumer reports poll, 40 percent of patients surveyed said they got more information from the Internet about diseases and treatments than from their doctors. Patients reported that they didn't understand about half of the instructions they received during visits. They complained that doctors failed to mention the side effects of medication they prescribed and didn't return lab test results promptly. One in five respondents said that when they or a family member was seriously ill, they had trouble getting needed care. |
Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
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 In past years consumer reports has given the Omron Automatic BPM with Intellisense its highest rating.558 The ReliOn brand, available from Wal-Mart, is also manufactured by Omron, but is less expensive ($40 to $60). We prefer the old-fashioned arm cuff to a wrist device.
ž ??? Omron Digital Blood Pressure Monitor with Intel MSense
We like this device because it is so easy to use. The cuff wraps around the arm without requiring any assistance and fits people with medium to large arms (9 to 17 inches in circumference). This is important to get accurate readings. |
Paula Begoun
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 What all conditioning' agents can do, and do quite effectively, is temporarily protect and reinforce the hair's structure, mostly on the outside, and to some extent (how much and for how long is unknown) on the inside (Sources: Journal of Cosmetic Science, September-October 2001, pages 63-83 and January-February 2003, pages 265-280; Cosmetics & Toiletries, May 2004, page 130; and consumer reports, September 2000, pages 18-21.)
Plant extracts show up in hair-care products claiming to perform miracles for hair. |
Michael Friedman, ND
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 In April 1999, consumer reports Special Report advised parents to dispose of soft vinyl teethers and toys that infants sometimes suck or chew, and all clear, shiny plastic baby bottles, unless the manufacturer tells you they're not made of polycarbonate, which leaches BPA. They also advised them to replace the bottles with those made of glass or an opaque, less-shiny plastic (the plastic bot-des are often colored). Shortly thereafter, in conjunction with American Council on Health and Science (ACSH), an industry-funded front group, family doctor C. |
Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D.
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| We like this Miele machine because it comes with a HEPA filter, is highly rated by consumer reports, and has served us successfully for years. You may find the Sears canister vacuum just as effective at a substantially lower cost.
Downside: A little on the pricey side. Filter needs to be changed regularly. |
| Consumer Reports consistently gives this system its highest score.26
Downside: The Aprilaire HEPA-type filter needs to be changed every year or two. Initial installation requires a professional. The electronic alternative is pricey.
Cost: Initial installation of the HEPA filter box is done by your HVAC expert. Should cost less than $200. A packet of two filters is $50 to $60. The Aprilaire Model 5000 Electronic Air Cleaner is roughly $600. Installation can run an additional $200. |
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