Duh, if it's not safe to advertise, it's not safe to take .. and don't you have something more important to do?

A key U.S. Democrat made a renewed call on Monday for giving regulators the power to ban advertisements to consumers when a new medicine first reaches the market and risks are not fully known.

So what he's saying is, we let drugs out for you to take and the amount and type of risks are somewhat unknown? But this way you can pretend that we are looking out for you by stopping those greedy industrialists from selling blood pressure medication as if it will regrow pubic hair..even though we are telling you point blank these guys are allowed by us to sell drugs with unknown risks?

Rep. Henry Waxman listed the idea as one of many he would like to pursue as chairman of the House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee after a new Congress convenes in January and starts to tackle a range of health-care issues.

"It is in these first few years of a drug's life that drug companies often aggressively market their products and engage in direct-to-consumer advertising. This increases the number of consumers exposed to safety risks of new products long before those risks are truly understood," Waxman said at a conference sponsored by The Prescription Project, a group critical of industry marketing.

What a total moron! Does he imagine that if you take Darvon if the manufacturer claims it changes your eye color, the risks are any different than if you take it for pain (the approved indication)?

What stupid grandstanding!

I feel much better now that I know people like Waxman will be guarding the borders and seeking ideological and martial means to defeat the islamozoid fanatics