The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was first created to enforce the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. In this capacity, the FDA is charged with protecting the health of the US public, to ensure the quality of its food, medicine, and cosmetics. Before this time, the United States government had no formal oversight of these products and left issues of quality and purity to the individual manufactures, or at times, individual states. Show This lack of regulation was not much of a concern during the early years of the country, as most people made their own goods, or purchased them from locally owned shops (who would make their own products). However, as more people moved into cities to work in factories and other urban jobs, pre-made goods were needed as city dwellers could not produce these themselves. As these types of products gained in popularity, horrific stories regarding both workplace and product safety came to light. One of the most famous reports was Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle (1906) which detailed the abysmal working conditions in a Chicago meatpacking plant where rotten meat and poisoned rats were knowingly ground-up, canned, and sold to consumers. Reports such as these convinced the US government to pass the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. Over the years, the act has been expanded and modified, and today the FDA is the major government agency involved in the oversight of prescription medications, including how these are advertised to the public. A closer look at important dates in the history of the FDA provides a direct link between the claims made on medical trade cards of the past, and those featured within modern direct-to-consumer drug advertisements. Look at the timeline below to learn more about the people, legislative acts, and legal cases that contributed to the evolution of the FDA, the pharmaceutical industry, and direct-to-consumer-advertising. Timeline: Through the Years with the FDA1883Dr. Harvey W. Wiley became the U.S. Chief Chemist and expanded the U.S. Bureau of Chemistry's food adulteration studies. He was a staunch advocate for enacting federal regulations to ensure the quality and safety of food and medicine throughout the country. Dr. Wiley is referred to as the "Crusading Chemist" and "Father of the Pure Food and Drugs Act" due to these convictions. He retired from government service in 1912 and died in 1930.
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