Poll shows waning confidence in U.S FDA

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Washington (dpa) - The U.S. public's confidence in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is declining and the public is concerned over close ties between the agency and the industry it regulates, a poll released Wednesday showed.

The study, a survey of 1,034 adults conducted by the public opinion and political strategy research firm Lake Snell Perry Mermin and Associates, showed that the public's confidence in the FDA's ability to ensure the safety of prescription medications declined from November to February.

The FDA is responsible for determining which prescription drugs and medical devices are safe for use. It has been under fire since October, when the pain reliever Vioxx was withdrawn from the market after a study had shown it increased the risk of heart disease.

However, the percentage of people having no or not much confidence in the FDA is still below 50 per cent, having increased to 37 per cent last month from 29 per cent in February.

Forty-eight per cent of respondents said the industries regulated by the FDA have "too much influence over the agency's decisions ", compared with 6 per cent who disagreed with that statement.

Two-thirds of those polled favoured an independent review of FDA practices.