LETTER from MAUREEN DILL

Americans Should Know

Where RXs Come From

To the Editor:

I’m writing to you about my concerns regarding the fact that the majority of our prescription medications (as much as 90 percent, I’ve been told) are manufactured outside of the U.S. – primarily in China and India.

Many of us are interested in “sustainability,” and this, I believe, is related to our sustainable future!
Having “Googled” this subject, I’ve also read that the welfare of the U.S. regarding these prescription medications is largely hinged on our maintaining good relations with China.

One of my grandchildren, who is a staffer for the current chair of the Oversight Committee, had sent me several links to House and Senate bills concerning this subject. All, it seems, are currently “stalled” and/or descriptive text on the bills is currently unavailable.

As you might guess, there is little to no oversight in the laboratories where many of these medications are being manufactured. Some prescription medication labs in China are operated under the names of U.S. corporations.

Family members who use prescription medications have endeavored (by phone or online) to identify the source of their current meds, but the providers of these prescriptions were unable or unwilling to identify the source of manufacture.

Today, if we purchase a garment, or shoes, or food products, or a piece of equipment, labeling of these products is required to list country of origin. Why not so for the prescription meds we are putting into
our bodies?

MAUREEN DILL
Morris