Safety Last: The Failure of the Consumer Health Protection System in Canada

John H. Gryfe is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon practicing in
Toronto.

Investigative reporter Nicholas Regush has written a book that reads
like a collection of newspaper exposés, dramatically related and of
questionable objectivity. Regush directs his attacks at Health and
Welfare Canada—in particular, the Health Protection Branch (HPB);
whether his criticisms are always justified is left for the reader to
decide.

Thalidomide, the Meme Breast Implant, the Dalkon Shield—medical
horror stories of the past—are detailed in this book along with recent
revelations about the marketing and distribution of drugs like Imitrex
and Toradol, and about the controversy surrounding female hormone
replacement therapy. The underlying message seems to be that whatever
industry can get away with is acceptable; it is incumbent upon the white
knights of government to maintain an inviolate screen of protection.