Don’t trust the FDA with your medicine or that sippy cup!

Sippy Cups, Baby Bottles and Sports Water Bottles Banned

“An FDA advisory panel has recommended the approval of Amgen’s immune-suppressing drug Enbrel (generic name etanercept) for the treatment of psoriasis in children, in spite of ongoing concerns that the drug may have lethal side effects.” It seems that even if a drug like Enbrel goes through extensive testing, it still gets approved, despite the many harmful possible side effects including Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a rare cancer and neurological diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis.

Children rely on adults to keep their food, toys and medicine safe.  Unfortunately, food may be ridden with chemicals, antibiotics and hormones, toys might contain led and medicine meant to help, might kill.  So if children rely on adults, adults rely on the FDA…..or do they?

Can we trust the FDA is going to keep our foods toxin free, drugs reliable and products safe? Even sippy cups don’t pass the buck. If you think your toddler is safe drinking from that sippy cup, think again.  The Associated Press on March 4th reported,

“Lawmakers in a Long Island county have voted to approve what would be the nation’s first ban on baby bottles and toddler sippy cups made with a chemical that some studies suggest may be harmful to infants. The ban on Bisphenol-A (BPA) was approved unanimously by the Suffolk County Legislature on Tuesday. It will take effect if County Executive Steve Levy signs it, but he has not indicated whether he will do so. The FDA had said last fall that BPA was safe, but after an independent report found deep flaws in its study the agency announced in December that it was planning more research.” -Consumer News Weekly.

If you’re a parent who has been keeping up with sippy cups being a problem with speech development, then perhaps you’re feeling relieved right now for following that hunch or advice to keep sippy cups out of your home. Speech therapists have been touting for some time now that sippy cups were causing speech impediments.

I think the reality is, just because something has FDA approval doesn’t mean it’s not going to harm you. Former President Bush reduced FDA funding for safety inspections back in 2005. I think it’s absolutely necessary to do the best you can in researching the drugs you take. You can’t research everything obviously, but staying informed, reading and learning as much as you can seems to be dependent on survival in this day in age. Life is short, don’t let the FDA make it shorter.