How many have died because of the FDA? ( Archived) (1)

Since the time of Hippocrates, willow bark extract was known to diminish pain and inflammation. Lewis and Clark drank willow bark tea, not knowing the chemistry behind the effects. By the mid 1800s, however, industrial chemistry was off and running, and the active ingredient, salicylate, was discovered. In 1897, a scientist at the German firm Bayer wanted to help his father’s arthritis and set about creating a compound of salicylate that was less irritating to the stomach lining. He developed modern “aspirin,” or acetyl-salicylic acid, and within two years the drug was selling around the world. It not only changed the lives of arthritis victims, but it inspired chemical companies to search for other new medicines thereby launching the pharmaceutical industry.
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