U.S. Food and Drug Administration
FDA Consumer magazine
November-December 2001
Table of Contents

Observations

Heroes create circumstances;
circumstances create heroes.
--Chinese proverb

A Harris Poll done in July asked adult Americans to name people they thought of as heroes. The pollsters did not suggest any names to the more than 1,000 people queried, nor was there a list to refer to. Jesus Christ was the person mentioned most often, followed by Martin Luther King, Secretary of State Colin Powell, former President John F. Kennedy and Mother Teresa.

Today, that list of heroes might also include everyday people--people who many of us have never met or even heard of. It might include the firefighters, police and other emergency personnel who worked around the clock, searching for the faintest signs of life in the rubble that once was the World Trade Center. It might include those who rushed to the scene that sunny September morning to fight the fires, treat the injured and assist with the evacuations, only to lose their own lives in the inferno and collapse.

The list of heroes also might include the firefighters and Defense Department workers at the Pentagon who unfurled a huge American flag near the blackened gaping hole left by American Airlines Flight 77 after it crashed into the symbol of American military might with terrorists at the controls. Or the passengers aboard United Flight 93, who apparently struggled with those who hijacked the San Francisco-bound flight before it crashed into a field near Pittsburgh. This is a time in America when it is clear that heroes come in all forms.

Employees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institutes of Health, and other HHS agencies are working around the clock to identify, treat and strategically plan for whatever threats may arise. Thousands of physicians, scientists, inspectors, lab technicians, regulatory personnel, emergency response staff and others are standing up for America.

For more on the HHS response to the events of Sept. 11 and to continuing threats, see "HHS Responds to Terrorist Attacks."

It's been 20 years since CDC researchers first published a brief report detailing an unusual disease in gay men. That disease, which later became known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome--AIDS--has killed more than 20 million people worldwide over the past two decades and has become a part of life around the globe. Our cover story "Living With AIDS--20 Years Later" examines the latest drug treatments and what is being done to improve the lives of those infected with the AIDS virus.

Are you a member of what's been called "the worried well"? Maybe the ads in Sunday newspapers and elsewhere touting "full body" CT scans as the latest in preventive medicine look tempting? Check out our article on CT scans to find what you need to know before you decide. In addition, it's wintertime and we talked with experts to bring you smart tips for preventing and treating colds and flu this season. And our feature on alternatives to hysterectomies explores the latest in new technologies and new choices for women.

--Raymond Formanek Jr. is the new Editor of FDA Consumer.

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