Yet another potential example of a federal agency possibly being influcenced by the corporations it is supposed to be regulating.
The energy bill was written by Big Oil and Enron, emissions standards for mercury aren't as tough as they should be owing to corporate lobbying, same goes for drinking water arsenic standards.
So Which agency is next?
Possibly the FDA.
The New Scientist (a UK Science periodical) is reporting that an FDA advisory committee recommended that Ritalin, a popular amphetamine derivative used to treat Attention Defecit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) should carry a prominent health warning.
Specifically the advisory commitee stated that there should be a warning of possible sudden death due to heart failure associated with taking Ritalin. They made this recommendation after reviewing 25 cases of sudden deaths involving people taking the drug, mostly children.
Instead of implementing this recommendation the FDA decided to hold a press conference to explain to the general public why its own experts were wrong.
So the questions are:
Has the Bush administration been leaning on the FDA over this?
And, if they have, what, if anything, has the manufacturer or their lobbyists offered them in return.