[e-drug] NY Times: New placebo pill for children (2)

["Fortunak, Joseph M." <jfortunak@Howard.edu>]

E-DRUG: NY Times: New placebo pill for children (2)
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Dear All;

There are a few minor points worth making re. Libby's message (Is this a JOKE??).

1. I'm sure we all read this with a sense of (what's the best adjective?).  But at least the US FDA has refused to approve such an item as a drug.  It is beyond the purview of the FDA to outright ban the sales of something that makes no claims of therapeutic value.

2. One important point.  Do any of us parents claim to have always "made the right call" on our children's illnesses? Deliberate dosing with a placebo can delay - potentially dangerously - effective monitoring of a developing situation.

3. What are the implications if a parent doses with obecalp and a physician later determines this was unwise?  Is the parent open to charges of negligence in child care?  Could the makers of obecalp be included in a lawsuit over such situations?  One shudders to think....

Joseph M. Fortunak
Associate Professor, Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Howard University
525 College Street NW
Washington, DC 20069 USA
+1 202 806 6880 (office)
+1 301 928 7568 (mobile)
jfortunak@comcast.net (preferred)