Fwd:OT What the drug companies don't want you to know

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

Significant flaws in our U.S. drug safety system put millions of consumers like you at risk from unsafe medications. You can help today by sending an email to Congress to strengthen our drug safety laws!

Reports indicate Paxil may cause teens to contemplate suicide and Vioxx may have caused thousands of heart attacks or strokes. Those we trust -- the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the companies creating and producing these drugs -- have failed to protect us.

Congress has legislation now before it to fix these problems while still getting life-saving drugs quickly to market. Tell Congress to pass common-sense drug safety measures.

Drug companies currently can hide from you and your doctor studies that show harmful side effects. And the FDA doesn't have the tools it needs to make drug companies complete further safety studies once their drugs reach the market. As a result, drugs like Vioxx, Paxil and others have harmed thousands of consumers in the past few years. You can read more about this in the January issue of Consumer Reports -- "Prescription for Trouble."

Drug companies have gotten away with enough, and the FDA needs the power to enforce safety measures. We need your help to close loopholes that let drug companies hide from you and your doctor studies showing dangerous side effects.

After you take action, please forward this email to your friends and family and ask them to join you in contacting their members of Congress. Momentum is building to fix this problem, but we need even more support to make drug safety laws a reality.

Thank you,

Jim Guest, PresidentConsumers Union101 Truman Ave.Yonkers, NY 10703

You may also contact us with your comments at prescriptionforchange@....

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