The FDA says:
FDA actively monitors the Internet and, where appropriate, purchases and analyzes drug products. In October 2009, it announced what it found when it purchased and analyzed several products represented online as Tamiflu.
One of these online orders resulted in delivery to FDA of an unmarked envelope postmarked from India. Inside were unlabeled, white tablets taped between two pieces of paper that were found to contain talc and acetaminophen, an active ingredient found in many medicines to help relieve pain and reduce fever. Not found was oseltamivir, the active ingredient of Tamiflu.
The Web site selling this product disappeared shortly after FDA placed the order.
The agency also bought four other products purported to diagnose, prevent, treat or cure the H1N1 influenza virus from other Web sites. These products contained various levels of oseltamivir but were not approved for use in the United States. Several did not require a prescription from a health professional.
In actions it announced in June 2009, FDA issued warning letters and advised operators of offending sites to immediately ensure that they weren't marketing products intended to act against the H1N1 flu virus that have not been cleared, approved, or authorized by the agency.
* Among the unapproved, uncleared, or unauthorized H1N1 flu products it targeted at that time were
* a shampoo said to protect against the H1N1 flu virus
* a dietary supplement said to protect infants and young children from contracting the virus
* a "new" supplement said to cure H1N1 flu infection within four to eight hours
* a spray that claims to leave a layer of ionic silver on one's hands that kills the flu virus
* several diagnostic tests that have not been approved to detect the H1N1 flu virus
* an electronic instrument whose sellers claim uses "photobiotic energy" and "deeply penetrating mega-frequency life-force energy waves" to strengthen the immune system and prevent symptoms associated with H1N1 viral infectionWork by FDA and the FTC to identify, investigate, and take regulatory action against individuals or businesses that wrongfully promote purported 2009 H1N1 influenza products will continue. These efforts can include additional legal actions including seizure of products, injunction, or criminal prosecution.
For a list of the fraudulent products, click here.
]]>it's kinda neat actually
]]>@Dragonis: Agreed. There is more mercury in a tuna sandwich than the flu shot. Literally. And the type of mercury in the flu shot is not even the same as in thermometers, or tuna for that matter. It's a different type that the body excretes completely and has been tested safe time and time again.
The shots are made with the same ingredients, at the same laboratories, using the same methods as the seasonal flu shot. It is just because we are in a hurry and missed the current seasonal vaccine that a second production run was needed.
If the timing was earlier, H1N1 would have been mixed into the current seasonal shot, and no one would be screaming "IT'S NEW AND UNTESTED!" Why should they be screaming that now? It is the exact SAME shot as the seasonal shot, same ingredients, except a different genetic component is used.
]]>@floraposte: Agreed. Also the many conflicting headlines designed to be sensational add to the confusion. One screams "Is the vaccine safe?" the other screams "Why can't we find the needed vaccine?" often on the same major news website. People are confused.
I'm not worried about the vaccine at all. My child has a history of respiratory illness, so that puts him at high risk for complications from H1N1. I was very lucky to find him the vaccine when it was available for a short time in my area, before it sold out.
]]>@hi: You're free to believe that, although I do not subscribe to that belief. Best of luck to you.
]]>@floraposte: Ha ha! For Haloween it would be fun. I think some people use gentian violet to temporarily color themselves for pranks or sporting events. But it takes a few days to wear off.
Although the people who get "stained" permanently by the silver products (sprays, pills, etc.) are not a bright blue, they turn a sickly looking purple-blue. It looks like a bruise over the entire body. It depends on how long they take it for - a little turns the skin a little blue (not very noticable) but as it starts to build up it gets much darker. By the time they notice the staining, it's been building up for so long and is still coming to the surface of the skin. It's too late to do anything.
]]>@pz: I don't know that a person who thinks shampoo prevents H1N1 is any dumber than somebody who thinks Darwin said "Stupid people ought to die before they breed".
]]>@hi: 13,000 between Jan-April sorry.
]]>I'd also like to add:
13,000 died from the regular flu so far this year. Thats 800 people a week.
1000 died from the swine-flu strain.
Obama has not given the vaccines to his kids.
+ Watch video
_embedded
Photobiotic. Light-life. As in, energy from light. Last I checked, and I AM a biologist, by the way, the only living things that could make energy from the sun were autotrophs, like plants. We are not autotrophs, nor do we have them living on our hands. Unless maybe we really really need to bathe.
]]>I would buy anything that provided "deeply penetrating mega-frequency life-force energy waves". Sounds kinky!
]]>@sicknick: Personally, I'm waiting for being a judgmental asshole to go out of fashion, but apparently it's the in thing right now, so there you are.
Speaking of stupidity, I also don't get the idea that fraud is morally righteous as long as the person defrauded is a) stupider than the fraudster or b) stupider than me, personally. Do you also believe that if I can beat you up and take your wallet, you don't deserve to keep your money? Hey, you should have taken the personal responsibility to carry a gun, or learn self-defense.
]]>@Julia789: Part of the reason for the shortage is also the decline in capacity to manufacture vaccines in the U.S.. It hasn't been enough of a money maker to keep pharmaceutical companies interested, so the relatively recent ramp-up still takes time.
]]>I ran the numbers on PowerBall (the multi-state game available where I live)not too long ago. If you were to receive the full jackpot in a lump sum and ignoring taxes, the jackpot would have to be $161,151,191.71 for your overall odds to break "even". More realistically, if you take the 50% lump sum option, pay the maximum 35% federal income tax on every penny of the jackpot, and pay no state income tax, the top prize would have to be $495,849,820.66 to break even. Since the biggest powerball prize ever was something like $350M, this is pretty un-attainable.
Oh yeah, and all of this assumes that you don't split the jackpot with anybody. :)
(yes, I recognize that this is really just an argument not to play, but I enjoy making the counter-argument that there exists *some* rational reason to play, if you just do the math out, and are willing to accept some assumptions :D)
]]>@floraposte: They use fake news and propaganda to manipulate public opinion. It works... but I'm not buying it and I hope many more will join me.
]]>All year 'round, it's harder to explain the Smurf costume.
]]>@Brazell: Whatever, I was going to buy it anyway, my feet smell
]]>@Julia789: Any amount of murcury is bad for you. Watch the following video:
How Mercury Causes Neurodegeneration (Brain Damage):
Description (from the op): Video illustrating with actual images of brain fibers being destroyed by mercury (the 2nd most toxic substance in our planet... There is NO healthy dose of mercury!!!).
+ Watch video
@hi: I don't understand all the fuss about the H1N1 vaccine. I got it, and my child got it last week. It's the same shot as seasonal flu shot, same ingredients, same laboratories, same methods. They stopped production of seasonal vaccine, switched the genetic component in the vaccine from seasonal to H1N1, and continued production as usual.
Really I don't see the fuss about the ingredients. There is more mercury in a tuna sandwich, than in a flu shot. Seriously.
Part of the reason for the shortage is that it takes one chicken egg per vaccine. They can't just use any old chicken eggs, they have special flocks of hens of selected breeds for vaccine eggs. The hens are kept in sanitary laboratory like facilities (rather than farms) and health tested. They can only lay eggs so fast to keep up with production. They already did almost the entire production of seasonal vaccine. Flu grows very well in chicken eggs, they are perfect container for it, without worrying about infecting animals that can spread it or mutate it.
There is a new production technique using vats of animal cells instead of eggs, which just begin in Europe and has yet to get FDA approval here. Hopefully we will soon have that new, faster method available in the U.S. that does not require chicken eggs, so that production is faster in the future.
]]>Where you might be getting into issues is in the totally sterilized households with young kids, since there is some thought that that's how some kinds of hypersensitivity, like asthmas and early allergies, develop. But that's still a theory among many.
The real problem, of course, is the effect on the microorganisms rather than on us. But even that can be an advantageous trade, as in the use of antibiotics in the face of dangerous infections.
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: The running joke in our family is that I'll never win the lottery because I can't afford to buy tickets. Hubby still falls for this one, but has agreed to limit his spending on tickets to $5 every two weeks. Less than I spend on soda, so I guess I can't complain too much.
]]>I believe that "silver spray" is the stuff that turns your skin blue, permanently. Some people take it as pills, drink it, or use a spray. They turn into living smurfs.
]]>I'm going back to my office at the CDC to generate more H1N1 press now.
]]>@katstermonster: Those who are in the most dire of situations are the most likely to be preyed upon, and are also the most likely to see schemes and scams as real. It's the same reason that many studies show that the poorer you are (or the poorer you feel you are), the more likely you are to play the lottery. Nevermind your chances of winning are astronomical - you keep playing because of that one chance, that one miniscule chance you have to strike it big, and rid yourself of all your financial woes.
]]>Dear America,
We the federal government are going to mega-hype up the swine flu and lie to you about it BUT DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT BELEIVE IN ANYONE ELSE MEGA-HYPING the swine flu and lying about it. They are out to get you! But at the same time, trust us... we are just hyping it up for your safety.
Thank you for you time.
PS: Get vaccinated now!
PSS: There's a vaccine shortage!
PSS: Vaccines are completly safe and untested!
PSSS: ... whatever
@B:
Nice, kill the player, game over.
]]>@mommiest: It's like freakin Airborne. People still take that stuff by the handful, despite it being absolutely useless. At least that isn't harmful, though.
]]>@pecan 3.14159265: The wife of an acquaintence posted on facebook yesterday that they'd gotten hit by a modeling scam. As in they spent money to have their daughter photographed for modeling jobs that turned out to be fake. These are people who are on welfare, living with his mother, and just found out they're having a third kid. I don't want anything bad to happen to the kids, but this is definitely a case where stupidity just can't seem to get painful enough to tech them a lesson.
Disclaimer: this is not meant to be a commentary on welfare in general. I just mean to say that if you're receiving state assistance, you shouldn't be having another kid and/or spending money on modeling BS.
]]>If someone wants to think they can cure their pneumonia with Miracle Tonic, and thus dies from it, the only consideration is whether or not they had time to breed beforehand.
]]>@ThinkerTDM: It's these people's job: [www.fda.gov]
Why not monitor the internet? I'd guess it's how a lot of counterfeit drugs & scams get around, and those could be very harmful.
]]>@Dragonis: I think the saddest part is that some people who buy this stuff think that they're one sneeze away from the flu and have become hyper vigilant about using hand sanitizer and such - and that makes them more susceptible to germs.
]]>Your rights are being eroded America! Wake up!
]]>The FDA actually pays someone to "monitor" the internet? Nice work, if you can find it.
]]>@GitEmSteveDave_GoneInAMmmBop: Luckily, my family members aren't that gullible. More like they've heard some wild claim, are unsure as to its efficacy, and they know better than to pursue it without first asking us what we know about it. It's generally assumed (rightly) that we know more about these things than our parents do. Our parents, poor things, still don't understand that seven seasons of a TV show can't possibly be legitimately going for $50 when it's $160 on Amazon, and that there is no special packaging - it's just scammy scam scam.
]]>It's not so much that they're doing something illegitimate. They're just pitching a feature that everything has as their own. It's like how Lucky Strike cigarettes advertised that they used toasted tobacco, when the fact is that every cigar and cigarette uses toasted tobacco. Or like how Corn Flakes will advertise that they're "Fat Free," when most cereals don't have fat.
]]>@sicknick: I'm pretty sure the larger implication of any of these scams is that now the people in China, India, Nigeria, etc. have your financial information.
Part of me agrees that stupid people should learn their lesson - but the part of me that has to explain to gullible friends and family that you can't prevent swine flu if you take certain herbs disagrees.
The more information the FDA gives, the easier I can debunk these idiotic scams.
]]>I'm a bit of an asshole, so this probably won't go over well, but let's just let the stupid people fall for this. I used to have a bumper sticker on the back of my car that read "Stupidity Should Be Painful". I still believe this. If you're dumb enough to buy Swine Flu Shampoo, you don't deserve to keep your money. Same if you cash bogus mystery checks sent to you asking for the money to be sent elsewhere or if you sign up for a "used car warrenty".
When did common sense and personal responsibility get so out of fashion?
]]>@Underscore_Lysdexia: Which should come in handy at the funerals caused by relying on shampoo to resist the virus....
]]>@JanDuKretijn: Love to know what you find out about this. I've been reading FluWiki and storing supplies, but don't have the latest information.
Nice username, by the way, ;)
]]>@GitEmSteveDave_GoneInAMmmBop: I have a motivator here GUARANTEED* to protect you from the swine flu!
*not a guarantee
]]>it's great and I can wear my black suits once more!
]]>I dunno about this product, I think it might disturb my chi
]]>