Mosquito Control wants to spend $1.2 million for a new poison spray plane

Example of pharma companies misleading the public. Not only did they mislead the public, but they also mislead the doctors to whom PurduePharma Sales Reps push the faulty information. "it (PurduePharma) encouraged physicians to overprescribe OxyContin."

The makers of Oxycontin, PurduePharma, have agreed to pay more $630,000,000 in fines, for misleading the public on the addictive nature of the drug.

OxyContin Maker, Execs Plead Guilty


By SUE LINDSEY
The Associated Press
Thursday, May 10, 2007; 12:29 PM

ROANOKE, Va. -- The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty Thursday to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction, a federal prosecutor and the company said.

Purdue Pharma L.P., its president, top lawyer and former chief medical officer will pay $634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said in a news release.... (Full story)

Good, oversight is a wonderful thing. Again, 99% of meds used as inteneded are safe and effective.

Organic Mama, I read that list of toxic compounds and I think every agent listed is in my shampoo:rolling:

Seriously, a few months ago I broke out in a terrible rash on my scalp...no more info needs be disclosed, but I was asked by my barber if I used Pantene...which I did! He told me he had seen similar flares with other customers that used that product. I used bar soap to wash my hair, and within 3 days my scalp was again in good health! I asked a dermatology resident about it after the fact and she opined that based on what I described, it was the sodium lauryl sulfate (a foaming agent) that was the culprit! How about that!?:creepy:

At any rate, I did read the list and it seems that most agents listed are irritants and only at supratherapeutic exposure at that. I will print it out though, as you can't believe how many people come in complaining of rashes, and playing detective with the list might be fun.

Good, oversight is a wonderful thing. Again, 99% of meds used as inteneded are safe and effective.

Seems to me in this case with PurduePharma, there was absence of oversight for a long time. I know too many people who got hooked on oxycontin, and it has destroyed their lives completely.

I am all for oversight, and wish the FDA would allow the non-pharma companies to be tested. It is a shame that while we know vitamins can be beneficial to us, the FDA does not test them for contents, or effects. Due to this lack of oversight by the FDA, Vitamin companies have no checks, and the consumers might not be getting what they think they are getting.

Tying in this lack of oversight from the FDA to the Dpt of Agriculture, don't you think it is possible that the local boys at SW Skeeter Control, could get a little heavy handed with the mixing? Maybe it takes only one screw up day to mess all of us up.

Skunky, didn't you post information on Malaria outbreak in the US back on a wetlands thread, showing that we have never had an outbreak of Malaria in Walton County?

Someone else posted that our lifespan has increased during the time when we were spraying poisons on bugs. I find that to be as useful as comparing lifespan to the consumption of cheeseburgers purchased at McDonalds. Surely, increased lifespan of humans could be directly related to most of our houses not being heated by wood buring inside of the homes, or any other things like that. -- Right?

Seems to me in this case with PurduePharma, there was absence of oversight for a long time. I know too many people who got hooked on oxycontin, and it has destroyed their lives completely.

I am all for oversight, and wish the FDA would allow the non-pharma companies to be tested. It is a shame that while we know vitamins can be beneficial to us, the FDA does not test them for contents, or effects. Due to this lack of oversight by the FDA, Vitamin companies have no checks, and the consumers might not be getting what they think they are getting.

Tying in this lack of oversight from the FDA to the Dpt of Agriculture, don't you think it is possible that the local boys at SW Skeeter Control, could get a little heavy handed with the mixing? Maybe it takes only one screw up day to mess all of us up.

Skunky, didn't you post information on Malaria outbreak in the US back on a wetlands thread, showing that we have never had an outbreak of Malaria in Walton County?

Someone else posted that our lifespan has increased during the time when we were spraying poisons on bugs. I find that to be as useful as comparing lifespan to the consumption of cheeseburgers purchased at McDonalds. Surely, increased lifespan of humans could be directly related to most of our houses not being heated by wood buring inside of the homes, or any other things like that. -- Right?

Plenty of folks get hooked on oxycontin, no doubt. However, let me go out on a very thick limb and postulate that far more patients who do have chronic and/or acute pain are helped by the appropriate use of the medication. There are allopathic quacks who open pain clinics that are not much more than pill mill cashcows;I think they should be shuttered when they are identified. Additionally, some well meaning docs prescribe the stuff way too liberally. Sometimes, the problem lies in addicted patients who doctor shop, go into ERs and intimidate docs into prescribing pain meds, etc, etc. But the system, such as it is, works (imperfectly) and prescribers need to provide an FDA number when Rxing narcotic meds, and red flags are raised when patterns seem out of whack.

As far as the FDA providing oversight, did you see my post earlier in this thread about what is involved with a company bringing a new drug to market within FDA guidelines? Why, oh why, would the herb and vitamin makers want any part of this? The DSHEA act passed in Congress in the early 1990s allowed herb and vitamin companies to operate under the 'supplement' umbrella and as I noted before, they need not prove anything regarding safety or efficacy of their products before they hit the shelves. As long as they do not promise to 'diagnose or cure' any condition and state that claims made on the label 'have not been evaluated by the FDA', they are ready for market!

You are right, somebody could mix something wrong and make people sick in theory. Whether or not this is a realistic scenario or not, I don't know as I am not sure if they dilute a concentrate at the mosquito control plant or if they spray a pre-diluted chemical. But it certainly argues that all those involved in the spraying program be well trained.

I think I posted a map of modern day malaria and yellow fever incidence. I doubt that if the spraying stopped today we would see a spike in malaria or other conditions which depend on mosquitoes as vectors (maybe with the exception of West Nile virus and other flavivirus). Now, I know that historically Bay County had malaria, so I don't see why Walton wouldn't. The doc who invented the air conditioning in Appalachicola did so in large part because of the terrible fever his malaria patients suffered with (or at least that is what I read), and that wasn't terribly long ago.

I don't worry about malaria or disease rearing their heads if spraying stops. I think there would be a decline in the quality of life! I know I have not lived in the area for any length of time, but I know that (what I call) horseflys or yellow flys and those biting gnats that swarm on the bay by our pad make life miserable. I daresay that outdoor activity would be out of the question if there was no spraying. The same goes for blackflies on the beach. I think it was a September near Seacrest Beach, and they were so awful that simply going to the beach was harrowing! If biting and stinging insects are allowed to be held in check only by natural predators and glue traps, there is a real risk that we will not be able to enjoy outdoor activities anymore.:(

I had posted that it would be interesting to look at the bell curve of life span superimposed over the same for insecticide use. You are right, there are probably a staggering number of confounding variables that would limit the exercise.

You are right, somebody could mix something wrong and make people sick in theory. Whether or not this is a realistic scenario or not, I don't know as I am not sure if they dilute a concentrate at the mosquito control plant or if they spray a pre-diluted chemical. But it certainly argues that all those involved in the spraying program be well trained.

:funn:In theory, the guy cooking your food in a restaurant might not wash his hands, and make people sick in theory. I am sure that the restaurants properly train their staff on sanitation and the dangers of not washing their hands on a regular basis, esp after going to the restroom. ;-)

:funn:In theory, the guy cooking your food in a restaurant might not wash his hands, and make people sick in theory. I am sure that the restaurants properly train their staff on sanitation and the dangers of not washing their hands on a regular basis, esp after going to the restroom. ;-)

You know what I mean smarty pants:nono1:

Example of pharma companies misleading the public. Not only did they mislead the public, but they also mislead the doctors to whom PurduePharma Sales Reps push the faulty information. "it (PurduePharma) encouraged physicians to overprescribe OxyContin."

The makers of Oxycontin, PurduePharma, have agreed to pay more $630,000,000 in fines, for misleading the public on the addictive nature of the drug.

OxyContin Maker, Execs Plead Guilty


By SUE LINDSEY
The Associated Press
Thursday, May 10, 2007; 12:29 PM

ROANOKE, Va. -- The maker of the powerful painkiller OxyContin and three of its current and former executives pleaded guilty Thursday to misleading the public about the drug's risk of addiction, a federal prosecutor and the company said.

Purdue Pharma L.P., its president, top lawyer and former chief medical officer will pay $634.5 million in fines for claiming the drug was less addictive and less subject to abuse than other pain medications, U.S. Attorney John Brownlee said in a news release.... (Full story)

There is a story like this almost everyday. The pharmaceutical industry is powerful, and over the past few years they have come to have an unethical amount of influence over the FDA. Last night, I was reading about a study that linked prescriptions of atypical psychopharmaceuticals (read superpotent , side-effect ridden drugs for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, etc) to children under 12 with the doctors employed to do speaking engagements on behalf of the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture those drugs. Doctors who received around $5000 in fees per year for speaking engagements were 12 times more likely to prescribe atypicals (at $8000 to $12,000 per year) to patients. One 12 year old girl was given a powerful antipsychotic with a side effect of increasing the appetite when the doctor suspected an eating disorder. She now has crippling bask spasms, a side effect of the drug. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/10/health/10psyche.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

My point is that all of us should be skeptical consumers of healthcare, naturopath or allopath. We should not buy drugs directly from the practitioner prescribing them, ever. I have worked with many very, very talented doctors -- particularly oncologists -- who let the profit margins of the drugs in their arsenal play too much of a role in their prescribing decisions. It's human nature, and only saints are likely to not let personal gain be a factor in their decision making process. Generally speaking, you want a doctor that carries Wal-Mart's $4 formulary list in their pocket, not the one with three pharmaceutical reps in the hall chatting him up. If you are looking for a new doctor, ask him if he gives lectures on drugs to peers, if yes keep looking. If your naturopath only recommends his own products, look elsewhere. If your allopath's office staff eats a catered gourmet lunch everyday, look elsewhere. If your oncologist wants to do in office infusion and won't let you order your chemo drugs from a specialty pharmacy, go elsewhere.

Every profession has quacks. It's our responsibility to use what we know about pharmaceutical companies in our decision making process when it comes to finding a doctor. I recommend this site -- http://www.nofreelunch.org/

Good post Rapunzey.

Rapunzel, great post. We've ventured off topic a bit from the planes and trucks spraying us with poisons, but I think your post can be related to the poison planes and trucks. The one department which controls this spraying, is not being checked by the public. We are given no notice of the spraying, and no warnings of the possible dangers of the chemicals being sprayed, unless we ask. In the case of most people, they don't know that the poisons are being sprayed, so they don't know to ask what is being sprayed.

As I posted earlier, one of the "purposes" of Mosquitos, according to the SW Mosquito Control, is that it provides jobs for the people controlling mosquitos. I kid you not! This statement alone makes me question anything they are doing over there in the toxic center.

Here is the link to their F.A.Q., and here is the wording:


Another benefit of mosquitos is that the poop created by the critters who eat the skeeters, goes back to earth as fertilizer for the soil. Bats make plenty of natural fertilizer.

Rapunzel, great post. We've ventured off topic a bit from the planes and trucks spraying us with poisons, but I think your post can be related to the poison planes and trucks. The one department which controls this spraying, is not being checked by the public. We are given no notice of the spraying, and no warnings of the possible dangers of the chemicals being sprayed, unless we ask. In the case of most people, they don't know that the poisons are being sprayed, so they don't know to ask what is being sprayed.

As I posted earlier, one of the "purposes" of Mosquitos, according to the SW Mosquito Control, is that it provides jobs for the people controlling mosquitos. I kid you not! This statement alone makes me question anything they are doing over there in the toxic center.

Here is the link to their F.A.Q., and here is the wording:

What purposes do mosquitoes serve?​

"Mosquitoes play an important role in the ecosystem. During their aquatic phase, mosquitoes provide food for other aquatic insects such as dragonfly and damselfly nymphs, beetles, and water scorpions, fish, bacteria, fungus, frogs, and other water-dwelling animals. As adults, they provide food for bats, birds, other insects, lizards, and spiders. They also provide work for pesticide manufacturers, health specialists, mosquito control personnel, and entomologists. When mosquitoes feed on plant juices and flower nectar for energy, they perform the important service of pollinator to these plants."​

Another benefit of mosquitos is that the poop created by the critters who eat the skeeters, goes back to earth as fertilizer for the soil. Bats make plenty of natural fertilizer.

Surely that is tongue in cheek?!

But you are right in regards to the foxes guarding the henhouses in so many facets of our world today. The Mosquito Control Board and its programs should be transparent and accountable to the public. My grandfather, who was born in 1897, always thought the beach a vile and unpleasant, bug-ridden place. He refused to go on family vacations, despite all of us singing the praises of pesticides they were using by the 1970's. We do need some mosquito control. We also need to know the credentials of the people selecting the chemicals used, the acquisition process, if the pesticide marketers taking the county buyers on trips to Fiji to see how effective their product has been there, etc.

I, personally, would rather have the safest mosquito/yellow fly/dog fly control available rather than covering myself and any children I care about with insect repellent multiple times a day everyday. I just wish it were possible to know that we are getting the best/safest.

One of the greatest drawbacks of this area is that it is such a small market there are very few sources of real, investigative news. SJ raises questions we should all insist on knowing the answer to...

Okay, I am catching up on the discussion, but might have to run off because of an untamed explorer in a walker who has learned how to get into everything... Companies that sell babyproofing products should use his "mugshot" on the front of their products....:blink: Thank goodness we are in a bungalow that I can see his explorations from this point.

Everyone has good points. ANYTHING without checks & balances is harmful, no matter what it is. We all want a safer, cleaner, not buggy place to live and to visit. Punzey, you are thoughtfully expressing much of what I feel. Thanks!

I don't want to scare people. I am interested in educating people, for what it's worth. I can't talk for everyone, but I believe that science & nature can be combined effectively to achieve the results that we all desire, for the benefit of the community and for the tourism industry here.

I am attaching some info from a friend of mine who headed up the BFA (Biological Farmers of Australia) for a number of years and has been in the organics industry for over 20 years. It is an option and something to throw on the table.

Mothernature, could you post about the workers who weren't given directions on mixing pesticides, please? SJ's comments made me think of what we were talking about the other day.

Here's Alf's statement and then the pdf file:

[SIZE=+0]Lisa,[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]Please see attached a PDF which has a lay description of Pyrethrin a natural insecticide that is generally extracted from chrysanthemum flowers.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]Please understand that pyrethrin can be synthetically produced ? so there are 2 versions ? the natural one works just as well and is the best.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=+0]The interesting thing is that the body doesn?t know what to do with synthetic pyrethrin, that is the body will store it in fatty tissue., whereas the body will metabolise and eliminate natural pyrethrin.[/SIZE]

Here's the info on the FDA loophole. Obviously, reading labels in regards to this will give the answers to which products this can occur in. One can say it's a small amount but when you look at the bio-accumulation issue, it makes you think:

When there is a upper-case ?A? it is an abbreviation for ?Amine?
Nitrosating Agents: Chemicals that cause nitrosamine contamination have been found in laboratory tests to cause cancer. Nitrosamines can be found in the following ingredients: 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol, Cocoyl Sarcosine, DEA compounds, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Formaldehyde, Hydrolysed Animal Protein, Lauryl Sarcosine, MEA compounds, Quaternium-7, 15, 31, 60, etc, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate, and TEA compounds.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES): When combined with other ingredients, they create nitrosating agents and are carcinogenic.

An except from the US FDA cosmetic guidelines states:
?Amines react with nitrosating agents to form nitrosamines which are known carcinogens?.

Organic Mama, I read that list of toxic compounds and I think every agent listed is in my shampoo:rolling:

Seriously, a few months ago I broke out in a terrible rash on my scalp...no more info needs be disclosed, but I was asked by my barber if I used Pantene...which I did! He told me he had seen similar flares with other customers that used that product. I used bar soap to wash my hair, and within 3 days my scalp was again in good health! I asked a dermatology resident about it after the fact and she opined that based on what I described, it was the sodium lauryl sulfate (a foaming agent) that was the culprit! How about that!?:creepy:

At any rate, I did read the list and it seems that most agents listed are irritants and only at supratherapeutic exposure at that. I will print it out though, as you can't believe how many people come in complaining of rashes, and playing detective with the list might be fun.

Skunky many of your posts are brilliant, I have learned a great deal from reading your views and am glad to have you involved in this discussion. It intrigues me to see someone that appears to have so much knowledge yet will not question what is being sprayed, used, or placed in products. You seem like someone who whould want to know.

If the above rash that you speak about truly happened and you see people coming in with weird rashes and such don't you want to find out from sources outside of the manufacturers or the industry that has money to be gained what the real hazards are? There are always two views on everything and here is a view on SLS. Looking forward to your response.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate and Sodium Laureth Sulfate

This inexpensive detergent is commonly used in cosmetic cleansers, hair shampoos, bath and shower gels, bubble baths, etc. - It is probably the most dangerous ingredient used in skin and hair-care products. In the cleaning industry SLS is used in garage floor cleaners, engine degreasers, car-wash soaps, etc. It is very corrosive and readily attacks greasy surfaces.

Sodium lauryl sulfate is used throughout the world for clinical testing as a primary skin irritant. Laboratories use it to irritate skin on test animals and humans so that they may then test healing agents to see how effective they are on the irritated skin.

A study at the University of Georgia Medical College, indicated that SLS penetrated into the eyes as well as brain, heart, liver, etc., and showed long-term retention in the tissues. The study also indicated that SLS penetrated young children's eyes and prevented them from developing properly and caused cataracts to develop In adults.

May cause hair loss by attacking the follicle. Classified as a drug in bubble baths because it eats away skin protection and causes rashes and infection to occur.

Is potentially harmful to skin and hair. Cleans by corrosion. Dries skin by stripping the protective lipids from the surface so it can't effectively regulate moisture.

Another extremely serious problem is the connection of SLS with nitrate contamination. SLS reacts with many types of ingredients used in skin products and forms nitrosomines (nitrates). Nitrates are potential cancer-causing carcinogenics.

Because of the alarming penetrating power of SLS, large amounts of these known carcinogens are absorbed through the skin into the body. A variation of SLS is SODIUM LAURETH SULFATE (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate- SLES). It exhibits many of the same characteristics and is a higher-foaming variation of SLS.

Typical MSDS Data sheet on Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

Hidden Dangers Lurking in Shampoo-Another article about the dangers of SLS

Study from Norway on dangers of Sodium lauryl sulfate and recurrent aphthous ulcers

Short Important Article on Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS)

JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGE OF TOXICOLOGY re SLS-Volume 2

Caution Signs on Shampoos, Bubble Baths

Common pesticides use fluoridation chemicals as their main ingredient

Toxic Toothpastes can cause AIDS- Use of Toothpastes to get Sparkling Teeth And Die Young with a Charming Smile?

More Harmful Ingredients in Everyday Products

and even More Ingredients to Avoid

*

For Safe Products without SLS or SLES

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Here is the link for the above quoted material.
www.healthy-communications.com/slsmostdangerousirritant.html