Each day, US citizens spend vast amounts of money on products regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Every time a drug, food, or cosmetic is purchased, part of those funds ends up in the hands of the FDA. In fact, "25 cents of every consumer dollar is spent on FDA-regulated products" (Worsnop 2). In what ways is the peoples earned cash being spent? The FDA spends much of its funds on regulating drugs that are available and considered safe to use. The FDA originated in the mid 1900's for this purpose after many drugs, which are now considered to be illegal narcotics, were being sold over the counter as "cure-all" medicines. Before the origination of the FDA, there were no requirements for companies to label ingredients for any of their consumable products. Congress then enacted laws that required companies to provide evidence to the FDA that the drugs they produced were safe to use ("FDA Drug Approval Process" 3). .
Even with the steps the FDA has taken since the time of its origin to ensure safety in drugs and medicine, still much criticism has been directed toward the FDA recently, mostly because of the amount of time the organization requires for potential life-saving drugs to become available (Worsnop 2). There is a misconception that when a scientific breakthrough in medicine occurs, the drug discovered is then immediately available to the public. However, this is not the case. Before any drug can be considered safe to use, the FDA requires it to "undergo a rigorous approval process" which can take years ("FDA Drug" 1).
There is a purpose behind the FDA's lengthy approval process. If a drug is not properly tested, many unexpected problems can arise after its release, such as birth defects, illness, and death ("FDA Drug" 2). Some critics say that the FDA does not spend enough time on its approvals, and "In the past two years, the FDA has had to remove a number of drugs from the market after unexpected and sometimes fatal side effects were linked to them" ("FDA Drug" 3).
