The Daily Alaska empire., 1939-01-09
More Teeth for the Pure Food and Drug Act
Philadelphia Reeerdl

! tPhlladepna Reeefd} e--a
 Great reforms sometimes pivot accidents novel by Upton Sinclair led to the first great drive for pure food and drug legislation in this country The Coster-Asca scandals, the footing of the great drug house Of McKesson & Robbins may lead to an other such drive. ~ ~HTEI
 Newspapers last week published a list of 24 prepar- ations marketed by McKesson & Robbins and its subsidiaries which have, at various times since 1928 been seized and condemned by the Food and Drug Administration misbranded, falsely and fraudu- lenty labeled adulterated
 We read. with horror of one nostrum sold as "dphtheria preventive another a pneumonia pre- vcntive," third syphilis cure, an oil sold flor treating pulmonary consumption" We read, with equal horror, that the punishment for peddling such quackeries has usually been either small fine low as S25 or merely destruction of the particular shipment seized, possibly few bottles
 The sale of such medicines, at the best, taxes money from the poor under false preenses; at the worst is persuades sick or woman to postpone proper medical while pinning his faith on the ravings of abel-writer with wheeling conscience es glt s..esNa$ < .
 There happens to be a law already on the books scheduled to go into effect June 25, 1889 which can stop of these dangerous practices This is the Copeland Pure Food and Drugs act passed last July. diluted version of the Tugwell Bill introduced five years before
 Senator Copeland no Gaahad the bill is far from perfect But it is great improvement | Food and Drug Administrations hands for 32 years provision that drug manufacturer can be crimin- ally prosecuted only if it can be proved that he mis- labeled a product with intent to deceive In other words phony pneumonia cure" maker can be pun shed only if it can be proved in court that he knew | the stuff would not cure pneumonia. Since there is no legal can-opener by which a mans head be opened to let the court what
 in his mind there has been little criminal prosecu | ion under the act.
 l he act ont he of 1 intent. Under it criminal prosecutions should be easier labels have to tell the truth; penalties n
 reased and for the first time, include imprsonment new drugs be introduced until they have been tested for safety (this provision is in effect now, ! consequence of the sufanilamde deaths scandal factories be inspected if they sanitary labitforning drugs must be labeled; cosmetics and
 therapeutic devices controlled for the first time. So far good. On the negative side, the Cope land act still provides no control over advertising l although under another law the Federal Trade Con- mission is now empowered to force manufacturers l 0 cease using statements in advertisements which have been declared illegal if used labels Any Cir ;uit Court of Appeals can encin the Food and Drug Administration if it wants to. Only one shipment of drug be seized unless it is "immnently danger ous to health Worst of all, the department is still | lnderstaffed
 The Congressional drug lobby ties the depart ments hands by allowing it only 750 men to check all the food and all the drugs produced in the entire | country, a physical mpossiblity.
 1
 Under the Copeland act, for all it's defects Me Kesson & Robbins and it's subsidiaries could have been stopped from selling the stuff described above. Why must wait until June 9 for the law? We think Congress should bring it's effective date sev- eral months closer.
 Second the Food and Drug Administration, trying to police industries whose volume into many bi- lions needs Several times the $l750000 allotted 10 if lapnlally. Its appropriation should be doubled ii not Tiped at once SO as to enable it stRFcarry ou 1 the terms of existing law.
 Third, the provision banning multiple seizures tseizHe of suspect drugs wherever they found in as great quantities be discovered) should be taken out.
 The many honest companies in the drug industry have publicity job on their hands, They must wipe out the impression produced by the shocking McKes- son & Robbins disclosures. We conceive of no better way than for them to indorse the three pro- posals above.