Zicam users have been complaining to the FDA and to Zicam's manufacturer since 1999, but their complaints were only validated yesterday, when the Federal Drug Administration issued a consumer alert regarding Zicam use and the possibility of anosmia.

I read about the link between Zicam and anosmia several years ago, and have been avoiding the product ever since.  Years ago I had a friend who suffered from anosmia, and believe me, that is nothing that you want.  When you were a kid, did you ever do that science experiment where you plug your nose and take a bite of a potato and a bite of an apple?  With your nose plugged, you can't tell the difference between them.  That's what life is like, for anosmia sufferers.  Losing your sense of smell has a subtle but profound impact on your quality of life.  Frankly, risking anosmia in order to lessen cold symptoms failed the cost benefit analysis for me.

The New York Times speculates that the FDA ignored the anosmia reports under the Bush administration, and that the Obama Administration is going to start cracking down.  I can see how you would read this as a conspiracy theory, but I think it's more likely that the FDA is just moving at its typical speed.  10 years from the first complaint to the first consumer alert doesn't sound too unusual for the FDA.

More troubling is that Zicam's manufacturer has apparently received 800 complaints in the last 10 years, and has dismissed all of them.  They have paid a lot of money to settle hundreds of lawsuits from Zicam users who suffered anosmia, and yet they kept selling their product.

We all like to bash on Big Pharma, and hey, they make a great target.  But I think it's important to remember that corporate malfeasance is not the exclusive domain of multibillion dollar pharmaceutical manufacturers.  Zicam's manufacturer, Matrixx Initiatives, is a small player in the pharmaceutical field, with $40,000,000 in Zicam sales last year.  I looked around to see what else they sell, and although the New York Times says that they earned $101,000,000 last year, I can't figure out what that was for.  At any rate, $101 million is a rounding error to most pharmaceutical companies.

When the FDA issued their consumer alert, Matrixx Initiatives took the unusual step of fighting back.  They issued a press release stating that they did not believe there was a link between their products and anosmia.  This morning they did an about face, and issued a voluntary recall of their Zicam products, although they still protest that it is unnecessary.

The final point that I want to make about the Zicam recall is a lot of people feel that all vitamins are safe.  It's just a vitamin!  It can't hurt you!  There are a lot of people who would far rather take a vitamin than get a prescription.  I can totally understand this, but it's important to keep in mind the vitamins can hurt you, even if you take them as directed.