Every year approximately 200,000 die from prescription drug reactions.

Another 80,000 die from medical malpractice.

41,000 die in auto accidents.

[DRUG TOPICS, October 23, 1995, pg. 14-16.]

What is wrong with our focus on the "drug war" when 200,000 die each year from prescription drugs, yet approximately only 20,000 die as a result of illegal drug use?

Billions of dollars go into illegal drug issues in this country every year even though far more are dying from legal drugs. Everyone is asking, "Where is the FDA?" Busy approving another new drug? And how many more will die from that one?

A two-year Los Angeles Times investigation published in December, 2000 found that the seven drugs approved since 1993 have been withdrawn after reports of deaths and severe side. In the article written by Times Staff Writer David Willam, it states, "The FDA approved each of those drugs while disregarding danger signs or blunt warnings from its own specialists. Then, after receiving reports of significant harm to patients, the agency was slow to seek withdrawals."

Morton Mintz, a former Washington Post reporter, and a Nieman Fellow who won the Raymond Clapper award for reporting the thalidomide tragedy published a book in 1965 entitled, THE THERAPEUTIC NIGHTMARE. His warnings heeded then, and the warnings coming from many other men of great integrity since then, could have spared us the agony we have experienced from the drug tragedies since that time and those we are engulfed in today. He begins with, "Here we shall see that there have been instances when our excessive trust in certain Corporate Consciences has been rewarded with inadequately and even fraudulently tested drugs, with useless drugs and inferior versions of good drugs, with protraction of illness, and with waste of our money. In order that sales may begin and continue, regardless of whether we are healed and spared pain, evidence of serious and even lethal effects has been withheld from the responsible government agency and concealed from the medical profession and the public." (p.xiv)

We wish to honor him here (and those who have followed in his footsteps) in their unending efforts to warn us of these serious problems associated with the drugs we have come to learn to blindly trust. This site is to assist us in making sure that trust is no longer a "blind" trust. We must take the responsibility to educate ourselves about what we are putting into our bodies and brains.

Some of the most popular drugs on the market today are those that increase serotonin levels like the diet pills that were just pulled from the market. Originally Fen-Phen & Redux were thought to be so safe that 18 million people took the drugs. Now we know that they were so dangerous that those who took even one pill have been advised to have their hearts checked. If these drugs could be among the most popular on the market and touted as "the thing" for weight management for a two-year period, leaving a backlash of victims that attorney's offices cannot even begin to handle, what other mistakes will we wake up to tomorrow? What are you taking right now that could be just as dangerous or as damaging as these diet pills? What do you know about the medication you are currently taking? What do you know about the dangers of taking the drugs you are taking in combination with one another? Even more frightening to ask is "What does your doctor know or not know about the answers to these questions?"

Drugs like Prozac, Zoloft, Paxil, Luvox, Effexor, Serzone, Anafranil, etc. are some of the biggest money makers ever for the pharmaceutical companies. Yet are you aware that the use of Prozac among children from ages 6-12 went from 41,000 in 1995 to 203,000 in 1996. The number of new prescriptions written increased almost 400% in just one year?!! This is a very powerful mind-altering drug that has not been approved for use in children and yet our children are popping it like candy! Just Prozac's affect upon cortisol levels alone should frighten parents to death. One 30mg dose has been shown to clearly double the level of cortisol! (PROZAC PANACEA OR PANDORA?, p. 168) Increased cortisol impairs the development and regeneration of the liver, kidneys and muscles. It also retards linear growth. How many parents are given that information? How many doctors are aware of it themselves?

The study being used to gain FDA approval of this medication demonstrates that the rate of mania (a terrible form of insanity including symptoms of sexual compulsions, criminal behavior, alcohol cravings, rages leading to domestic violence, delusions of grandeur - often mistaken for increased self confidence, wild spending and varied types of criminal behavior) among children taking Prozac was three times higher than it is for adults. Three out of 100 had to drop out of the study due to this devastating complication which developed within a short eight week trial! The most logical question to ask is "Why do this to our children when there are many safer natural options that work as well without serious side effects?"

The ICFDA Mission Statement

The International Coalition for Drug Awareness is a private, non-profit group of physicians, researchers, journalists and concerned citizens.

Our primary focus is to address the world's most pervasive and subtle drug problem—prescription drugs. We are dedicated to educating the people of the world regarding the potential harmful and life threatening short and long term effects of these drugs along with the serious problems associated with the unethical marketing techniques of pharmaceutical companies and the off-label prescribing of these drugs by many physicians. As the cause of an estimated 200,000 deaths per year in America, drug reactions are now the third leading cause of death!

The most dangerous period of time for a drug is upon market introduction. At that point physicians and their patients have information on adverse reactions present in the controlled environment of a clinical trial, but are unaware of the potential adverse reactions of these new drugs when dispensed to the general public. We feel there is a need to track and report patient reactions more carefully and more rapidly than what is presently being done, which should result in lower medical costs for the patients and doctors as well. And also might begin to bridge the gap that is beginning to form between well-meaning doctors and maltreated patients.

By keeping prescribing physicians and their patients abreast of recent adverse reaction reports and approved uses of drugs as opposed to their off-label uses, we hope to cut the number of unnecessary deaths due to drug reactions and interactions and lessen the number of malpractice suits filed against physicians as a result of those reactions. Beyond this public education process our intention is to serve as a watchdog group over the FDA and similar organizations around the world, encouraging them to remove drugs which demonstrate high numbers of dangerous adverse reactions and threaten the public safety.