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Off label use of a drug is when an approved drug is used for an unapproved use. This accounts for about 20% of all prescriptions. Drug companies are forbidden to advertize for off label uses. They are also disinclined to do research for these unapproved uses because they have little to gain from a study if the drug is already being used.

A lack of openness about designs and results of clinical trials, coupled with inadequate oversight of off-label use of drugs and adaverse events, puts consumers of health products at risk. There is also the aspect that government sponsored clinical trials are paid for by the public, yet they must purchase the information when results are published in medical...