There is this thing called the FDA. They’re a much-maligned crew of science types whose job it is to protect the public from dangerous substances.¬†I say much maligned because regularly they get accused of all manner of conspiracies, diabolical plots, and evil machinations by the alt-med community. And to say the least, I find that real interesting.

I was going to list off a rambling mound of the responsibilities of the FDA, but why not leave it in their own words?

   FDA is responsible for

• protecting the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products, medical devices, our nation‚Äôs food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, and products that give off radiation
• regulating tobacco products
• advancing the public health by helping to speed product innovations
• helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medicines and foods to improve their health

That’s pretty nice of them, right? But as I said, they are much-maligned. It seems that many of the people who they seek to protect feel that their rights are being infringed upon. It’s a fine line, and the truth is somewhere in the middle. The FDA doesn’t always prevent a problem, they don’t always have all the information, and sometimes they are overly cautions, which could in theory cost lives. It’s a tightrope, and they’re the ones who have to walk it.

But let me give you an example I just read about on Bad Science¬†about the kind of thing the FDA is there for. It’s the story of Ying Wu, who’s one of those doctors of traditional Chinese medicine. Turns out she’s been giving a banned substance to this senior civil servant so her zits would stay under control. And of course, she died with massive problems with her excretory system and cancer. But her skin? Gorgeous!

The judge gave a pittance of a sentencing to the doctor, a two year conditional discharge, explaining that she couldn’t be blamed for not knowing the pills were dangerous. Now keep in mind that this is in the UK, and not Canada or the United States. I don’t honestly know if ignorance is considered an excuse there, though I’d be surprised if it was. So we’ll avoid the obvious argument that ignorance is no defence because of the possibility that in this case it very much is. However, I’d add that if she is a Doctor of Chinese Medicine, then you’re damn right she should know what the side effects are for the treatments she’s prescribing. If a family doctor prescribed someone rat poison and they died, he’d be found guilty for it.

Wu is not a doctor in Britain, but she was in China. If she’s acting like a doctor here (and I’m looking at all the alt-med practitioners, those who claim doctor status after a four year perfume-free courseand those who are simply practitioners, reiki masters, and assorted idiots) and claiming that her tinctures, pills, and manipulations will treat or cure diseases, then I say we treat her like a doctor. She may not have known better, but she should have. Now knowing better killed her patient.

In a case like this, ignorance is anything but a valid defense. And this is why I argue about this stuff so much. The FDA isn’t the enemy, they’re the ones that make substances illegal. The legitimate medical community aren’t the enemy, they’re the ones who have the valid education to be trusted giving us these substances. And when they make a mistake, they are punished in dramatic fashion. I get angry when people who don’t understand the implications of self-diagnosing and alternative medicine babble on about freedom and choice and conspiracies.

The FDA ultimately has one job. To keep us safe from ourselves. In our ignorance, we’ll take pills we don’t know anything about, we’ll chelate our children, and we’ll load them up on placebos. Someone has to make it their business to save us from ourselves.

Jim