Zicam: Now Offering Free Anosmia
Federal drug regulators warned consumers to stop using Zicam, a popular homeopathic cold remedy, because it could damage or destroy their sense of smell.The Food and Drug Administration received 130 reports from consumers and doctors of people losing their sense of smell after using one of the Zicam nasal products, which include Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs. The reports date to 1999, when Matrixx Initiatives of Scottsdale, Ariz., first introduced the products.
In 2006, Matrixx paid $12 million to settle 340 lawsuits from Zicam users who claimed that the product destroyed their sense of smell, a condition known as anosmia. Hundreds more such suits have since been filed. Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, agency commissioner under Obama, said the incidence of anosmia associated with Zicam “strikes us as a fairly large problem.”
Gee really? Get this—not only has Matrixx disabled the noses of hundreds of people, but they also refused to recall their products (although they did begin to offer refunds…). The loss of smell that people are experiencing can be long-term, including permanent.
If you thought the lack of recall was bad, check this:
“Matrixx Initiatives stands behind the science of its products and its belief that there is no causal link between its intranasal gel products and anosmia,” the release said. “For this reason, Matrixx Initiatives believes that the F.D.A. action is unwarranted and will seek a meeting with the F.D.A. to review the company’s product safety data.”
Matrixx had $101 million in sales last year, of which $40 million came from Zicam products. Because Matrixx has called Zicam a homeopathic product, the company was not required to seek agency approval before selling it.
The F.D.A. does not have the power to order product recalls but must rely on manufacturers to do so voluntarily… Bush administration appointees said the F.D.A. did not need mandatory recall authority because companies always withdrew unsafe products when asked.
I hope you go bankrupt. Soon.
