Having worked for a vitamin supplement company for about 2 years now, I have mixed feelings about the FDA.
On the one hand, I understand the need for regulation and rules - you can't have just any crack-pot with an herb garden bottling "supplements" and claiming it'll cure cancer.
Also, I've seen all kinds of metrics that prove how "unsafe" all the FDA-approved drugs are...but nothing about how many lives the drugs save. Lord knows I'm here today because of the advances brought about by Western Medicine (including the FDA), so I'm kind of a fan.
However, on the other hand, the FDA should be brought to trial under some form of anti-trust violations for making it almost completely impossible for supplement companies to do business. The amount of nonsense we've had to go through (hoops to jump through, etc.) is just rediculous.
We make a number of great products that help a lot of people, so I hope the company I work for is able to exist for a good long while. If you're interested, I'll post a link to our website...don't want this to sound like an advertisement...
Why not? People need to consider the source when deciding what to take. And stupid people will always find dangerous things to do. Lots of teenagers are sniffing glue, because some friends told them it was a safe way to have fun.
What the FDA should really be focusing on is policing the concrete claims of what the bottles contain, in what strength. I should be free to decide that that substance X is worth trying for my ailment. A company which wants to cater to my decision should be free to do so -- but it should not be free to sell bottles of tablets that say "10 mg of substance X per tablet" when they really contain a lot more or a lot less, or an unpredictable mixture of dosages. We already have plenty of laws against that, but the FDA would be an appropriate agency to handle random testing, responses to consumer complaints, and referral for prosecution when warranted.