A Deadly Double Standard

I’m sure all of you remember ephedra. The FDA removed it from the market (from the over-the-counter market) after 155 people had died from it.

What most people do not know is that the number, 155, was gathered over a 10 (or more) year period.

What most people do not know is that most of those deaths, if not all, were not cause by using ephedra, but rather by using ephedrine, the concentrated active ingredient in ephedra.

Just prior to the FDA removing ephedra from the market, I chased down as many news stories as I could find on the web that focused on the deaths due to ephedra.

I did not find one person who died from using ephedra. They were all from using ephedrine, and the victims were not following the instructions/warnings on the label. In other words, they were abusing the drug (I call it a drug because ephedra is an herb, but ephedrine is a drug).

You should note that the FDA removed ephedra from over-the-counter sales, but its forms (ephedra, ephedrine, and epinephrine) are still in prescription medicines and inhalers (for asthma).

One of my favorite statistics is one I found a few years ago, and that is: Over 100 people a year die using acetaminophen (Tylenol®) according to the instructions on the bottle.

They did not overdose; they did not abuse the drug; they used it according to the instructions and died.

One year the number was 133 dead (from acetaminophen). When I brought it up in a discussion, that fact was quickly countered with, “But how many people use acetaminophen yearly?” I responded, “Apparently 133 fewer this year.”

Here are some recent figures on deaths (and injuries) due to acetaminophen from various agencies:

In the US, there are no limits to how much acetaminophen you may purchase, but Switzerland, Great Britain, and New Zealand have placed limits.

From the facts listed above, obviously “science” has nothing to do with what is approved and what is removed.

Science uses statistics to determine outcomes, which determines scientific (medical) decisions.

Nothing we’ve seen in our comparison of ephedra to acetaminophen fits into a scientific model, hence the double standard, neither of which involves "science."

What does how they are treated involve? What is the key issue that separates how ephedra is treated compared to how acetominophen is treated? And why, if it's so dangerous, is it still available with a prescription?

It's all about the money.

So now let’s look at one vaccination: MMR.

Once again I must publish that we here at the Directory are NOT anti-vaccinations. We are anti-bad science and pro-good science. We are pro-facts.

Some states are now considering making certain vaccinations mandatory. Some want to end all exceptions except for medical reasons.

Yet the facts are that not one person has died from measles in the US in the past ten years.

In other words, ignoring the facts (the science) medicos and pharmaceutical interests (and the politicians they own) have a solution (mandatory vaccinations) to a non-existent problem.

We do have a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System. Doctors and health care personnel are “supposed” to report adverse events, such as deaths, but many do not because they simply don’t believe the deaths could possibly be cause by vaccinations since they "believe" vaccinations are perfectly safe.

Or, in other words, medicine under-reports deaths and adverse events.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System confirms that over the past ten years, 108 deaths have been reported. The Department of Justice has “agreed settlements” on 111 claims following death from the MMR vaccine since 2004. [www.wddty.com]

According to statistics gathered by Robert Kennedy Jr, the number of families not vaccinating their children has not risen in the past ten years and that despite being vaccinated, some children still get the measles. [https://www.freespeech.org/video/thom-hartmann-program-february-13-2015]

And still, not one death due to measles has occurred in the past ten years.  

And here is the ultimate double standard:

• 155 people die over a ten year period from abusing ephedrine, a drug made from ephedra, thus ephedra is removed from the market.

• 1,500 people die over a ten year period, and 78,000 people are injured yearly by acetaminophen, thus the FDA does nothing.

• 111 children die from the MMR vaccine over a ten year period, thus the vaccination should be made mandatory.

We are pro-good science. Good science will discover why some die from this vaccine. Good science will discover why the vaccine does not work all the time. Good science will come up with a safe and effective vaccination.

But as you can see, it’s easier to get the FDA and government agencies to step in and protect the moneyed interests rather than to protect the people.