The nation’s food supply has suffered numerous recalls due to contaminated food. Drugs are recalled at an increasing rate because of the risk they pose to patients. Pharmaceutical companies are overly aggressive in their marketing of new drugs without the support of good science. This isn’t a new wave of terrrorism. Rather, it’s the FDA’s own inability to keep up with a dizzying array of responsibilities at a time when the federal agency has not witnessed any significant increase in funding or technological improvement. “This is a crisis,” warned Dr. Garret A. FitzGerald, a University of Pennsylvania pharmacologist and an FDA adviser. It’s not really the fault of those working at the FDA. They are doing the best with what they have. The real culpability lies in the lack of support the federal government provides an overtaxed and increasingly overwhelmed federal agency. If this crisis isn’t addressed soon, we’ll see catastrophic consequences in the rise of contaminated foods and bad drugs.

According to some Columbia University researchers, doctors are overusing CT scans in diagnosing patients. The overuse can lead to a higher incidence of cancer due to the radiation exposure. The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, states that the risk is greatest for children. According to the report 2% of all cancers can be linked to exposure to CT scan radiation. The study notes that in most cases, old fashioned x-rays and ultrasound technology work just as well without adding the risk of radiation from a tomography CT scan. One has to wonder why doctors are pushing the CT scans in favor of the older, less dangerous methods. Hopefully, doctors are not succumbing to slick, aggressive sales pitches from those hawking the CT scans.