Observations

An Editorial Evolution

Whenever a new editor takes over a magazine, the publication usually changes and evolves. With this issue of FDA Consumer, I become its new editor, so I thought I would tell you a little bit about what I have in mind.

In its 33 years, FDA Consumer has been an authoritative source of health information. In recent years especially, it carried news-you-can-use stories ranging from updates on the latest nutritional controversies to advice on the proper use of medicines. The magazine also delivered insights into the latest actions taken by its publisher, the Food and Drug Administration. I don't expect any of this will change. In this issue, for example, we look at the newest treatments for arthritis and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Future issues, I expect, will increasingly carry hotter, more controversial topics, such as the recent conversation with FDA Commissioner Jane E. Henney, M.D., on biologically engineered foods. In this issue, we examine the health benefits and current controversies about adding soy protein to the diet.

FDA frequently faces difficult and complicated scientific issues as it seeks the best ways to promote and protect the public health. The magazine intends to be a forum where complicated issues can be examined, explained and discussed. I would like the magazine to serve as a forum where complicated issues can be examined, explained and discussed. The magazine will gradually include a bit more of what might be called public affairs reporting, focused on the pressing issues of the nation's health. One FDA Consumer writer already is examining the complex issue of medical mistakes.

FDA Consumer will continue to be a vital source through which the agency's stakeholders can understand the issues and debates surrounding the products we regulate. The magazine, however, will neither announce nor make public policy. The decision-making must be left to the thoughtful, deliberative process of the agency's scientific and legal experts. Decisions will be announced through the traditional means, such as the Federal Register and agency press releases. But, in the spirit of transparency, the magazine will not always wait for the final decision, but rather will attempt to examine the complexity of problems, the insights of the science, and the agency's reflective and regulatory processes.

As I grow into this editorship, the magazine will continue to change, taking on new features, perhaps retiring others. I'm sure that in the process I will make mistakes. When I do, I expect to hear from you. So, beginning with this issue, the magazine will add a Letters to the Editor column where our readers can express their opinions about the issues--and about our coverage. I ask of you only what former New York City Mayor Ed Koch regularly asked his constituents: "How am I doing?"

I believe that in the marketplace of ideas, we make progress only through openness. Only by engaging in the discussion will knowledge and insight be advanced. It's only through the courage and commitment to transparency that this agency can keep the confidence of a public that trusts FDA with its health and the regulated industries that rely on FDA to be fair.

For nearly a century, FDA has demonstrated its commitment to those ideals. This magazine will do no less.

Larry Thompson
Editor

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