[FrancoDiaz]

The problem with this is that the average consumer is both A) dumb, and B) doesn't know what they need.

Unfortunately, a significant number of bureaucrats and statists would prefer consumers to be dumb (or at least say that they are) in order to maintain power.

Oh and let me guess, you're not one of the dumb ones....it's the other guys right? ;)

[mkautzm]

For nearly all the products I buy, I'm definitely 'dumb'. I have a narrow expertise that gives me insight into a narrow set of consumer products where I can effectively evaluate product quality and value. For nearly everything else, I'm 'dumb'.

If you show me a rack of food product, I probably can't identify which is the best for a particular person given a set of goals. I probably can't even tell you which ones are 'bad' or 'good', because I don't really know. While food is but one subject, this applies to nearly everything I purchase. Which plastics are the best for a given task? What ingredients in a shampoo would actually give me results I want? What kind of bed or bedding is the best for my comfort? To all these questions: I have no idea. I'm at the mercy of google or a salesman, the latter which has a different motive than me which immediately calls that in to suspicion.

I'd be a fool to say I'm an all-knowing consumer, but so would anyone. Most people don't know what the need. They know what problem they want to solve, but they have no idea what the best product or solution is to solve said problem. Acknowledging this, we can easily see why when it comes to our health, it's probably best to see some regulation lest people do what they do best: make really dumb choices.

[Naritai]

I'm a complete idiot when it comes to what drug is going to have what effect on me. That's why I consult an expert: a doctor.

[FrancoDiaz]

You're choosing your own doctor, right?

Do you just blindly take whatever the doctor prescribes to you without doing your own research? How do you know your doctor is an expert? I'm pretty sure my doctor is not an expert in lots of things pertaining to medicine. He's not studying all the new research. That doesn't mean I can't have a conversation with him, but it's healthy to be skeptical of doctors too...that's why we get second opinions.

I don't have a huge problem with the FDA, but I'd rather have a number of choices of where to get information, and at the end of the day make my own choice on what to consume.

Also if people are so stupid like the OP suggested why not ban a whole plethora of foods like Twinkies, potato chips, soda, etc..?

[Broken_Hippo]

"Do you blindly take whatever the doctor prescribes to you without doing your own research?"

Yes, and the more serious or painful the issue is, the more likely I am to blindly take the stuff. I'm simply not rational: I know this happens to a few other people as well, who all have migraines. Some folks willingly admit that when the migraine gets bad enough, it really doesn't matter if they overdose on pain medication because that would make the pain stop: I was similar with my gall bladder pain. Didn't care what they shot into my veins, so long as I stopped dropping to the floor in pain.

"if people are so stupid like the OP suggested, why not ban a while plethora of foods like twinkies, potato chips, soda, etc?"

We have to an extent: A lot of schools have taken such snacks out, for example, and some have tried to stop folks on welfare from buying any of it. And we tax it. But the real reason we don't do that is because food carries its own risks that aren't nearly as instantly deadly as drugs. The main exception is new food products, colorants, and flavors. Now, I'm a little fuzzy on the actual regulation, but there are approved and non-approved things to use for food, and I was thinking you had to prove it generally safe for humans. I could be wrong on this bit, however.

[mkautzm]

> Do you just blindly take whatever the doctor prescribes to you without doing your own research?

Yes. I'm do not have a medical background and at best, I could gain a surface-level understanding of the drug, which is not useful to determine which drug(s) are best for me.

> How do you know your doctor is an expert?

They went to 10 years of school and several years of residency to do doctor things. These things are also regulated by several boards which have the power to revoke medical licenses if doctors suck.