Other federal regulatory agencies, such as the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, have the authority to force companies that they regulate to recall dangerous consumer products or automobiles. The FDA does not have this recall authority - all it can do is publicize voluntary recalls by the drug manufacturers.

So why doesn't the FDA have similar powers? The answer is probably the same as the answer to most questions about Washington - someone with money and influence made sure that the law did not give the FDA recall power.

The FDA also lacks a number of other potentially useful powers. When drug makers announce a recall, they usually do so by "lot number." Lot numbers are assigned when the drug is made, but there is no fixed definition of what constitutes a "lot," so it is often impossible to tell how widespread the problem is and how many people are affected.

The FDA cannot force manufacturers to tell the public what stores sold the drugs, often leaving people uncertain whether they are affected. Because the manufacturer decides whether or not to recall a drug, it can try to hide the problem (as Johnson & Johnson did when it tried to secretly buy up affected lots of Tylenol before announcing a recall) or it can delay communicating the decision to recall a drug for days or even weeks, potentially endangering users.

Finally, there is a related problem -how to publicize the recall. When a drug is sold by prescription, it is often possible for pharmacies to contact their customers and tell them of the recall. However, when the recalled drug is sold over the counter, it is not possible to contact everyone who bought it directly, leaving the mass media as the only way to "spread the word" about the recall. This may mean that some consumers unwittingly will continue to use a recalled and potentially dangerous drug because they did not happen to hear or read about the recall.

What Can You Do?

If the FDA is powerless, what can you do as a consumer? Most importantly, use your eyes, ears, and nose. Report to your pharmacist any pills that seem "off," and keep your ears open for publicity about recall notices. It can also help if you buy all of your drugs from a single pharmacy, a practice that will make it easier to get notices of recalls and know whom to talk to if you have any questions or concerns.

If you have e-mail, you can sign up at www.recalls.gov to receive e mail alerts about recalled products from all federal safety agencies. Finally, you can contact your representatives in Congress to support changes to federal law that will give the FDA greater powers to recall dangerous drugs.

LOONEY MARRIAGE LAWS

The purpose behind most laws is clear and sensible, but sometimes you have to wonder what legislators were thinking. Here are nine unusual laws relating to marriage:

In Montana, it is legal for both the groom and the bride to be represented at their wedding by a proxy.

New Orleans forbids palm readers and fortune tellers from officiating at a wedding.

In Delaware, a marriage can be annulled if it was done "because of a jest or dare."

In Hartford, Connecticut, it is illegal for a married couple to kiss in public on Sundays.

In Salem, Massachusetts, it is illegal for a married couple to sleep nude in a rented room (although there does not seem to be a penalty for being nude if the couple is not sleeping).

Truro, Massachusetts, requires a prospective groom to "prove himself manly" by hunting and killing birds.

In Wichita, Kansas, a man's mistreatment of his mother in law is grounds for divorce.

Kentucky makes it illegal to remarry the same man four times.

Finally, South Carolina forbids a man over the age of 16 from proposing marriage if he doesn't mean it.

"OFF" MAY NOT MEAN OFF

When we turn off an appliance or a piece of electronic equipment, we expect it to stop using electricity. However, this often is not the case. Up to 75% of the electricity used to power home appliances is used when the appliance is off! This is because many items powered by electricity do not actually shut off, but rather go into a "standby" mode that continues to use electricity as long as the plug is in the socket. Sometimes, such usage is practical, such as to power a clock or a timer, a remote control sensor, or an LED, but often the power is just wasted.

You can reduce your electric bill by refusing to feed these "energy vampires." The easiest way to make sure that an appliance or a piece of equipment is really off is to unplug it when not in use. In order to make this easier, you may elect to plug a number of related electronic items into a single power strip, and then turn the strip off when the items are not in use. Some stores even sell smart power strips, which cut off the flow of electricity once the electronic item has been shut off.

Another strategy is to look for Energy Star qualified products. Energy Star is a rating system, and only those appliances and electronics that are energy efficient receive this rating. Energy Star products tend to consume less power when in standby mode than their non Energy Star counterparts do.

Small changes in your energy usage can add up to big savings on your electric bill every month.

CONCLUSION