FDA

Don't be fooled by phony "breakthrough" drugs

It may be Big Pharma's favorite buzzword.

But every time I hear a drug company has a new "breakthrough" med, it's usually time to run -- fast and in the other direction.

When a new drug gets the FDA's breakthrough designation, it often means it's barely been tested -- and probably has risks we don't even know about.

In fact, a few years ago the FDA approved Sovaldi as a breakthrough hepatitis drug -- and we only learned later that it can cause a potentially deadly reaction when combined with heart meds.

But a frightening new study proves that mainstream docs are falling for this breakthrough swindle time and time again -- and that could be putting you or someone you love right in harm's way.

A new survey in JAMA gave doctors a choice between two drugs -- a real one, and a phony one that had supposedly been given breakthrough status by the FDA.

And in 9 out of 10 cases, the docs chose the phony breakthrough drug.

Even worse, more than half of these docs also thought that the FDA would require strong clinical evidence in order to designate a drug as a breakthrough (as in with randomized clinical trials).

But in the case of prescription drugs, most of these breakthrough drugs on the market today weren't even tested against existing drugs out there... only against placebos.

So while the new drug may be better than nothing, it may not be better than what you're already taking... or than a drug that's been on the market long enough for the medical community to figure out all of the risks associated with it.

The truth is, the pharmaceutical giants just want you to pay out of pocket for their new, high-priced drugs... for which there are no affordable generic alternatives (yet).

This study calls for Congress and the FDA both to reevaluate the use of the term "breakthrough," but it's probably just the first of many buzzwords that will be used to sway mainstream docs into pulling out their prescription pads for the new flavor of the month.

Meanwhile, scientists are making real breakthroughs in natural cures that not only outperform placebo, but some of which even outperform over-the-counter and prescription medications.

These natural alternatives just don't have the big marketing campaigns behind them... or manufacturers with dollar signs in their eyes.

Before you're convinced to take any new drug, do your homework. Ask your doc what his other patients' experiences have been on the drug. Read the label yourself -- especially the fine print -- and compare it to your other options.

I'll keep sharing the latest true breakthroughs with you... and uncovering the very real risks behind the fake breakthroughs.

Because mainstream docs may be fooled, but you don't have to be.

FDA indoor tanning stance leaves teeny-boppers burned

The crack of the bat. The cheer of the crowd. The smell of hot dogs cooking on the grill.

It's baseball season everywhere -- and even your local tanning salon is getting in on the action. Swing by any afternoon, and you'll see an army of teenage girls with faces so toasted and leathery by fake baking that they look like old catchers' mitts!

And these little princesses had better get their yearbook photos taken fast, because they're already living on borrowed time.

Gals who regularly visit indoor tanning salons aren't just wasting their cash -- they're throwing away their good health. And it's up to you to stop it, because Uncle Sam is proving once again he's not up to the job.

Faced with mounting evidence that unlike natural outdoor sun exposure indoor tanning boosts your skin cancer risk by a staggering 59% -- and after research proved teens were most at risk -- the FDA has taken the bold and courageous step of now requiring salons to put LABELS on their tanning beds.

That's the answer we've been waiting for, friend. Not some massive public health campaign -- just discrete labels warning that tanning is dangerous for teens.

And if you think these million-dollar salons are going to grow a conscience and start turning away the cheerleading team at the door, you may have spent too much time in the sun. Getting into a tanning salon is like getting accepted at a community college -- just flash some cash and you're in.

About a third of female twelfth graders fake bake, and I hope your daughter or granddaughter isn't one of them. Just because her friends' parents are morons doesn't mean you need to be a moron, too. Send her outside to get some real healthy full-spectrum UV light instead.

Because there's one word American parents are going to have to learn if we want to keep tanning beds from becoming death beds... if we're serious about saving our girls from a lifetime of radiation and disfiguring surgeries.

The word is "no." Start practicing it on your teen today, and I promise she'll thank you down the road.