zen and the art of the fda

ZEN AND THE ART OF THE FDA
2004-10-18


OCTOBER 18, 2004. From the Cleveland Plain Dealer (Oct.1), we get a gem of a quote from the FDA commissioner. He’s talking about Merck withdrawing Vioxx from the market:

Dr. Lester Crawford, acting FDA commissioner, said Merck "did the right thing."

"Although the risk that an individual patient would have a heart attack or stroke related to Vioxx is very small, the study that was halted suggests that, overall, patients taking the drug chronically face twice the risk of a heart attack compared to patients receiving a placebo," Crawford said in a statement.

End of excerpt

Crawford is obviously a zen master in disguise. Giving us a koan to chew on until we reach that moment of utter desperation, the mind clicks off, and we cross over into satori.

But while we ponder his message, prior to enlightenment, several things do occur to us: The study that was halted was *%#&¤?§*, and therefore Merck never needed to withdraw Vioxx; God told Crawford that the individual patient faces a very small risk of heart attack from Vioxx; before he was born, Crawford had the face of a con man; don’t worry, be happy; in the overall scheme of things, the individual doesn’t matter, which means there is nothing to fear.

Take two Celebrex and don’t call me in the morning with stories of chest pain.

JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.com

www.nomorefakenews.com

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