• FDA Warns Women of Childbearing Age Not to Take Dietary Supplements Containing Vinpocetine (June 11, 2019)

  View the entire June 2019 issue in PDF format

• For Some Drugs, Crushing Tablets or Opening Capsules Can Yield Fatal Consequences
  (June 2019)
  Patients who have difficulty swallowing pills will sometimes crush tablets or open capsules and sprinkle the resulting powder, fragments or granules into food or liquids. Other patients will resort to chewing their pills before swallowing. Find out the dangers posed by taking such measures.
• Time to End Tax Breaks for Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Ads
  (June 2019)
  In his editor’s column, Dr. Michael Carome advocates federal legislation that would abolish the harmful tax breaks given to Big Pharma for the costs of direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising.
• Review of the Asthma Drugs Montelukast (SINGULAIR) and Zafirlukast (ACCOLATE)
  (June 2019)
  Learn why Public Citizen’s Health Research Group has designated the asthma drugs montelukast and zafirlukast as Do Not Use.
• Taking These Medications With Grapefruit Can Be Dangerous!
  (June 2019)
  Read about the many prescription drugs that can interact in dangerous ways with grapefruit or grapefruit products.
• FDA Warns of Life-Threatening Blood Clots with Use of High-Dose Tofacitinib
  (June 2019)
  In this article, we discuss preliminary data from an ongoing clinical trial that prompted the FDA to issue a new warning about potentially fatal blood clots caused by tofacitinib, an oral drug used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

  View the entire May 2019 issue in PDF format

• Review of Testosterone Products
  (May 2019)
  Approximately 10 years ago, testosterone makers launched a massive direct-to-consumer advertising campaign to promote the use of testosterone for normal age-related declines in testosterone in men. Learn why such use of testosterone can be dangerous without providing any proven benefit.
• Beware of Companies Hawking Snake Oil for Alzheimer’s Disease
  (May 2019)
  The FDA’s recent warning about a dozen companies that marketed illegal products purported to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s disease highlights the importance of ignoring advertisements promoting miracle cures for serious diseases.
• Indacaterol (ARCAPTA NEOHALER): The Wrong Choice for COPD
  (May 2019)
  In this article, we explain why the FDA should not have approved indacaterol, a long-acting inhaled bronchodilator, for long-term treatment of COPD without first requiring further clinical trials testing lower doses of the drug than the currently approved dose.
• Colchicine Interactions with Other Drugs Can Be Life-Threatening
  (May 2019)
  Read about the many prescription medications that can interact in dangerous ways with colchicine, a commonly used drug for treatment of acute gout attacks.
• Medications That Induce Breast Enlargement in Men
  (May 2019)
  For men, abnormally large breasts can be distressing and embarrassing. Find out about the numerous drugs that can cause breast enlargement in men.

  View the entire April 2019 issue in PDF format

• Review of the Osteoporosis Drug Denosumab (PROLIA)
  (April 2019)
  Learn why we have designated Prolia as Do Not Use for treatment of osteoporosis in women and men.
• Pharma's Price Gouging on Insulin Is Literally Killing Patients
  (April 2019)
  Many diabetes patients, including some with health insurance, can no longer afford to take the dosage of life-saving insulin prescribed by their doctors because of price gouging by the pharmaceutical industry. For some of these patients, the rationing of unaffordable insulin has proved to be fatal.
• Medications that Cause Taste Disorders
  (April 2019)
  Drugs are the most frequent cause of taste disturbances. In this article, we identify more than 60 commonly used prescription medications that have been linked to problems with taste.
• Suicidal Thoughts: Latest Risk for Baldness and Prostate Drug Finasteride (PROPECIA, PROSCAR)
  (April 2019)
  In this article, we discuss a new reason for why finasteride should not be used by men to treat symptoms of prostate enlargement or male pattern baldness.
• New Research Finds Increased Water Intake Helps Prevent Recurrent Bladder Infections, Reduces Use of Antibiotics in Premenopausal Women
  (April 2019)
  Many women are plagued by frequent bladder infections, and use of antibiotics to treat bladder infections comprises a major proportion of antibiotic use around the globe. Read about new research showing that increased water intake in women markedly reduces the frequency of bladder infections and the need for antibiotics.
• News Brief: Dangerous Gout Medication Withdrawn from Market
  (April 2019)
  In this month’s news brief, we report on Ironwood Pharmaceuticals’ recent decision to cease marketing its dangerous gout drug lesinurad (ZURAMPIC, DUZALLO). Several years ago, we had designated the drug as Do Not Use because its substantial risks far outweighed its benefits.

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• Petition to the FDA to Require a Black-Box Warning for the Osteoporosis Drug Prolia (HRG Publication #2478) (April 16, 2019)
  Public Citizen petitioned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to add a black-box warning to the product labeling for the osteoporosis drug, Prolia (denosumab), to alert doctors and patients about the risk of vertebral fractures associated with cessation of the drug and need for alternative osteoporosis treatment after stopping the drug.
• Letter to the FDA Urging the Agency Not to Approve the New Drug Application for Sotagliflozin for Treating Type 1 Diabetes (HRG Publication #2473) (April 1, 2019)
  Public Citizen strongly urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to approve the new drug application (NDA) for sotagliflozin (ZYNQUISTA) for use as an adjunct to insulin therapy to improve glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes because the data from the phase 3 clinical trials presented in the NDA show that the drug causes an unacceptable eight-fold increased risk of life-threatening diabetic ketoacidosis in subjects with type 1 diabetes given the drug, compared with those given a placebo.
• Petition to the FDA for a Moratorium on Approval of New Opioids or New Opioid Formulations (HRG Publication #2474) (April 1, 2019)
  Public Citizen petitioned the FDA to immediately impose a moratorium on approval of all new drug applications for new opioids or new opioid formulations, not to be lifted until the FDA has implemented the elements recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for inclusion in a currently non-existent opioid regulatory framework that is intended to prevent a continuation of dangerous past regulatory errors that clearly have contributed to the deadly opioid crisis in the U.S.
• Press Release: Responses of Dr. Sidney Wolfe, Founder and Senior Adviser, Public Citizen's Health Research Group, to Gottlieb Testimony on Opioids (HRG Publication #2476) (April 1, 2019)
  Scott Gottlieb, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, today testified about opioids at a hearing of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. His testimony included several misleading statements and omissions.