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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (March 3, 1982)
national Battalion/Page 8 March 3, 1982 Generic drugs may be tested to insure safety Warped By Scott McCull you 60 OUT OF TOUR WAY TO 00 THINGS FOR PEOPLE ANP THEY DON'T APPRECIATE IT, YOU TRY BEING A/ICE FOR A CHANGE... you PAY SOMEBODY A COMPLIMENT AND THEY BARELY NOTICE. I'H TELLING YOU PAUL, THERE'5 NO GRATITUDE IN THIS WORLD. . THANKS FOR TELLING ME ALLEN, IT'S REAL NICE OF YOU. IF HE WASN'T ONE OF BEST FRIENDS I'D HAT HIM. United Press International WASHINGTON — Re minded of a 1937 prescription drug tragedy that killed more than 100 people, the Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether generic drugs must be fully tested before they are put on the market. The justices Monday agreed to review a ruling the federal government claims would allow “potentially unsafe and ineffec tive” drug products to escape Food and Drug Administration inspection and go on sale to con sumers. A lower court found the FDA has no authority under current law to block the sale of generic drugs it has not approved. The government will argue before the justices next fall that the FDA must be allowed to in spect all generic drugs, which are fast emerging as cheaper substitutes for brand-name pro ducts, to make sure they are safe. It doesn’t matter that the ac tive drug agents copied by generic products already have been approved by the FDA, the government contends. It was an inactive ingredient innocently added to prescrip tion sulfa drugs that killed more than 100 people in 15 states in September and October 1937, it points out. Finding sulfa pills were too big to be easily swallowed — especially by children — a chem ist diluted the main ingredient for use in liquid form to fight bacterial infections, including sore throats. The product was called Elixir Sulfanilamide. Only after a string of violent deaths was the liquid identified as diethylene glycol, a chemical now used in antifreeze. It was the Elixir Sulfanila mide incident that spurred Con gress in 1938 to pass the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requir ing the FDA to inspect and approve new drug products be fore they can be marketed. “It would be contrary to the clear congressional intent for courts to eliminate the require ment of pre-marketing safety review simply because another drug containing the same active ingredient has been proved safe and effective,” the government argued in court documents. Attacking the government’s arguments, a Florida generic drug distributor claims the Elix ir Sulfanilamide incident is not comparable to today’s situation, which involves no claims that generic drug companies are us ing harmful additives. The government has ex pressed a new worry that diffe rent ingredients in generic brands could change the quanti- Whoever Said "Perm" Means "Frizz"? 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New book denounces humanism Abortion big issue, author United Press International Imagine Bible-believing Christians marching into the chambers of the Supreme Court and, like anti-war protesters of a decade ago at draft boards, sit ting in to protest court rulings they find unconscionable. Unimaginable? Not according to Francis A. Schaeffer, the influential evangelical author and lecturer. Schaeffer, in a new book aimed at rallying the evangelical constituency against humanism, holds that civil disobedience is a central part of Reformation theology and needs to be looked at again by Christians opposed to the secular trends in the Un ited States. The book, “A Christian Man ifesto,” denounces humanism and especially singles out the abortion as an “issue that is cru cial for the future of the church in the United States.” Schaeffer, founder of L’Abri Fellowship, an international study center in Switzerland, is the author of 22 books, many of them widely read in evangelical and fundamentalist circles. Most recently he co-authored, with If there is no final place for civil disobedience, then the government has been made auton omous, and as such, it has been putin the place of the Living God — au thor Francis A. Schaeffer Dr. C. Everett Koop, President Reagan’s controversial assistant secretary for health, “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?”, a strong attack on abor tion. As a “manifesto,” Schaeffer’s book tends to see the world in simple “us” against “them” terms, with everyone who is not a biblical literalist being at least an unwitting ally of the human ists. Secular humanists would argue his definition of them is committed to a view of humanity as only a collection of matter and energy. And certainly a number of non-fundamentalist Protestant, Roman Catholic and Jewish be lievers find a different version of truth in their reading of the Bible and the Judeo-Christian tradition as “humanism in theological terms.” And a large number of both religious and non-religious peo ple would take issue with his contention that his version of humanism “today controls the consensus in society, much of the media, much of what is taught in our schools, and much of the arbitrary law being pro duced by the various depart ments of government.” Manifestos, however, are meant to be provocative and Schaeffer’s blunt prose and sim plistic reading of history are cer tainly that. In evangelical circles, where the book will get its widest read ing, the provocation will come State officials must know that we are serious about stopping abor tion. This may include doing such things as sit- ins in legislatures and courts, including the Supreme Court, when other constitutional means fail — Schaeffer from Schaeffer’s demand that civil disobedience be part of the conservative evangelical agenda — thought that is abhorrenl most conservative believers,I “If there is no final place! civil disobedience, then the^ ernment has been made auj omous, and as such, it has l put in the place of the Lil God,” Schaeffer writes. Civil disobedience, he say! “the bottom line” in the struj against a state — in this i U.S. federal government—j has become controlled by f manism. He uses the abortion issuj an example. “To repeat: the bottom lii that at a certain point there is only the right, but the dut disobey the state,” Schaej said. “State officials must ki that we are serious about si ping abortion,” he writes. “1 may include doing such thi as sit-ins in legislatures courts, including the Supn Court, when other constituti al means fail.” Come Join Us For Happy Hour!! qq- 2 p.m.-6 p.m. Daily V/ Pitchers of Lowenbrau and Miller Lite 990 Orders of Nachos at ALFREDO’S TACOS AL CARBON 509 University Dr. Teamsters get raise; no more until ’85 NORTHGATE 846-3824 Italian Cuisine LUNCH SPECIAL SPAGHETTI DISHES $295 United Press International WASHINGTON — The nearly 300,000 Teamsters union members covered by a nation wide trucking contract will re ceive a 40-cent-an-hour pay raise April 1, but that may be the last increase for some time. The National Master Freight Agreement ratified by rank- and-file members Monday does not include a basic wage increase during the life of the pact — which expires March 31, 1985. According to union spokes man F.C. “Duke” Zeller, the members will get a cost-of-living adjustment on April I — under terms of the outgoing contract — that will boost their pay from an average $12.80 per hour to $13.20. The only pay items in the new agreement with Trucking Man agement, Inc., the industry’s bargaining arm, are two cost-of- living reviews on April 1, 1983 and April 1, 1984. The pay will then be adjusted one cent for each 0.3 percentage point increase in the Consumer Price Index.* Despite the three-year » freeze, Teamsters President Williams is hopeful the pact) restore jobs for laid-off ti drivers. “Considering the ecom problems facing the industij well as the nation, I thinkB have done very well,” Willi* said in announcing the ratit* tion. “One hope is thatB agreement will get back to* Teamsters who have beenj off their jobs.” Social Security plans to update computers United Press International WASHINGTON — Social Security officials announced plans Tuesday to spend $478.5 MSC TOWN Hnil presents OXIME ILSAF UKDN€SDRV MARCH 31 8:00 p.m. G. Rollie White Coliseum Prices: $5.50. $7.00. $7.50 Option Period: March 1 st through 5th General Sales begin March 8th TICH6TS RVfllLflBie AT MSC BOX OFFIC6 million over five years to mod ernize the antiquated computer system that now makes getting out retirement benefit checks a daily miracle. Social Security’s computer system is up to three years be hind in recording wage records and four years behind in recom puting benefits. It is perennially lagging in recording new claims applications and now faces a backlog of 120,000 hours of work. “We have reached the point where we cannot afford to delay modernization efforts any lon ger,” Commissioner John Svahn said. “We are now only margin ally capable of performing cri tical program functions and continue to fall behind in pro cessing existing workloads. “The people who are run ning the system, and who ufl running it through the trl tion, are performing a ■ miracle enabling us to geiH Social Security checks out P month.” Svahn said the new syst* aimed at improving sei* with minimal disruption; reB ing public confidence; im ving data quality and timelii and bettering staff effective! productivity and technolog Although new equipme: needed, the first priority is velopment of better comp programs, he said. Svahn blames inadeq equipment, plus low pay, fa troubles attracting a quali staff. He told Congress in cember he had 700 vacancies of a 2,600-person workforc DIETING? Even though we do not prescrib diets, we make it possible for many t enjoy a nutritious meal while the follow their doctor's orders. You wil be delighted with the wide selectio of low calorie, sugar free and fat fre foods in the Souper Salad Area, Sbis< Dining Center Basement. OPEN Monday through Friday 10:45 AM-1:45 PM QUALITY FIRST