Who's in charge of the FDA, again? Late last month, the FDA cracked down on a cold-season giant. In a letter to Procter & Gamble targeting two of its popular NyQuil and DayQuil products, the agency scolded the company for listing vitamin C among the inactive ingredients. It also issued a reminder that vitamin C is not on the list of ingredients that can be combined with the other drugs in the two products (among them, dextromethorphan, acetaminophen, and decongestant ingredients). Let's set aside the fact that we never see this kind of treatment for supplement companies—a nice gentle reminder (not even a slap on the wrist) instead of a swift pulling of products. It's nice to see that the FDA pays attention from time to time. And hey, they acknowledged that vitamin C should be considered an active ingredient! But then they took it all back. Just one day later, a retraction appeared on the FDA Web site. Blaming an internal systems error, they said that no warning letter had actually been sent to Procter & Gamble. The retraction closes with, "The agency regrets any confusion caused by the posting." Well, yeah, I am confused. How exactly does an "internal systems error" draw conclusions about the improper labeling of two big-time OTC products? Or did the FDA's concerns about the vitamin C in these two products simply disappear? I guess we'll never know, but hey, they regret the confusion! More likely, the agency regrets poking at Procter & Gamble, which I'm sure poked back. Of course, Procter & Gamble claims ignorance. They "cannot speculate as to what might have happened," but they're going to take it very seriously and work with the FDA to make sure everything is resolved. To whose benefit, I wonder? You know, this sort of thing isn't exactly helping their new "transparent" image. If the FDA wants to gain our trust, they're going to have to try harder—a LOT harder. And quit answering every Big Pharma cry of "Jump!" with "How high?" Sources:
"FDA: Procter & Gamble Warning Posted in Error," FDA (www.FDA.gov)
"FDA Withdraws Warning Letter on OTC Cold Remedies," Medpage Today (www.medpagetoday.com) | 
