How Safe Are Your Drugs?

Where do your medications come from, and how are they made?
 
That’s probably not a question you ask yourself very often when you pop a pill recommended by your doctor for a specific health diagnosis. But in the wake of the latest drug safety debachle, you may be asking yourself that question more often.
 
In recent weeks, news about the use of contaminated Heparin, a popular blood thinner, has been linked to more than 80 deaths in the United States. Investigators have alleged that the contaminated batches have come from factories in China, where the production of the drug goes largely unregulated. However, Chinese officials reject this assertion and say that the U.S. is responsible for the deaths since they haven’t occurred in other countries. The Chinese do admit that there is a contaminant in the Heparin they produce, but they say it’s not connected to the recent deaths.
 
If you were given a health diagnosis that required the use of Heparin, would you refuse it? Will this news make you question where all your pharmaceutical drugs are coming from? [The New York Times]