In this piece, News Target satires new employment postings at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Some highlights:

• Propaganda Officer: Help the FDA create and spread information that discredits products, companies and ideas that threaten FDA control. No scientific background necessary.

• Science Censor: Bury scientific findings that harm the prestige and credibility of the FDA.

• Chief Oppression Officer: Conduct armed raids on places where dangerous criminals are teaching patients about nutrition.

• Kickback Coordinator: Keep tabs on FDA managers' investments in pharmaceutical companies. Criminal background preferred, mob ties are a plus.

• Morale Officer: Keep FDA employees in line to boost morale and work efficiency.

• Public Safety Program Director: Not really a full-time job. In fact, you don't even need to show up.

News Target August 13, 2005

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

These humorous ads carry the distinct bite of truth. Slowly but surely, pressure from management and frustration among working scientists is driving out the employees at the FDA who really care about drug safety, and replacing them with tools of the pharmaceutical industry.

The current climate at the FDA is causing an unprecedented amount of employee turnover. In 2002, the Wall Street Journal reported that 15 percent of FDA medical officer jobs were vacant. This is much higher than at other similar government agencies, such as the National Institute of Health (NIH)or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Top scientists who have committed their lives to public safety are being prevented from doing their jobs, and are either giving up and quitting or being forced out. Honest scientists are forced to reluctantly contribute to approval of dubious drugs, or, in some cases, drugs are approved against the investigators' recommendations.

Part of the problem is that these professionals are so disheartened when they realize that more than 50 percentof the money the FDA spends reviewing drugs comes from the pharmaceutical industry. A full 80 percentof the FDA's resources are geared toward the approval of new drugs, and only 20 percentfor all the rest. Only 5 percent goes to drug safety.

Then their hands are tied as they watch these same drugs harm thousands of people. It is not uncommon for respected FDA veterans to leave the FDA having lost confidence in the safety or effectiveness of prescription drugs. Morale at the FDA is at an all-time low.

Already, the FDA has become little more than a rubber-stamp approval process for Big Pharma. While current "industry-friendly" policy stands, things will only get worse as more and more honest employees are driven out.