Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Unapproved, Sometimes Dangerous Drugs Found In Dietary Supplements
The Washington Post: Diet, Weight Loss And Sex Supplements Are Tainted With Unapproved Drugs
Researchers found unapproved and sometimes dangerous drugs in 746 dietary supplements, almost all of them marketed for sexual enhancement, weight loss or muscle growth, a new analysis published Friday shows. The review of a Food and Drug Administration database of contaminated supplements for the years 2007 to 2016 most commonly turned up sildenafil — the drug sold as Viagra — and other erectile dysfunction drugs in sex enhancement products; sibutramine and the laxative phenolphthalein, both banned by the FDA, in weight-loss supplements; and steroids or their analogues in muscle-building products. (Bernstein, 10/12)
NPR: Viagra, Steroids And More Appear In Products Marketed As 'Natural'
"The FDA didn't even bother to recall more than half of the potentially hazardous supplements," says Dr. Pieter Cohen, a Harvard Medical School professor and an internist with Cambridge Health Alliance in Boston, who wrote an accompanying commentary in the journal. "How could it be that our premier public health agency spends the time and money to detect these hidden ingredients and then doesn't take the next obvious step, which is to ensure that they are removed from the marketplace?" he asks. (Cohen, 10/12)
Kaiser Health News: Hidden Drugs And Danger Lurk In Over-The-Counter Supplements, Study Finds
“It’s mind-boggling to imagine what’s happening here,” said Dr. Pieter Cohen, an associate professor of medicine at the Cambridge Health Alliance in Massachusetts. Cohen wasn’t involved in the study but wrote a commentary published alongside the research. (Bluth, 10/12)
