Consumer Education: 
What You Should Know About Buying and Using Drug Products

 FDA is committed to providing consumers with information on prescription, generic, and over-the-counter drug products. The Center for Drug Evaluation and Research has developed the following public service campaigns and announcements to help you make informed decisions about using medicines.

To obtain any of the graphic images for printing, please call 301-827-1243 or 1 888-INFO-FDA.  You can also email your request to: dpapubs@cder.fda.gov. 

• Ensuring Safe Use of Medicines
• Buying Medicines
• Over-the-Counter Drug Products
• Generic Drug Products
• Misuse of Medicines
• Specific Drug Products
• Consumer Information from Other Government Agencies

Ensuring Safe Use of Medicines

• "My Medicines"  (4/16/2003)
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• "Be an Active Member of Your Health Care Team"
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• "Think It Through: A Guide to Managing the Benefits and Risks of Medicines" (Brochure)  
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• "You have a hand in your health with the safe and effective use of medicines"  (Public Service Announcement)
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• "Information: Your best medicine" (Public Service Announcement)
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• "What Are You Adding to the Mix?"  
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• "When using medicine, sometimes two rights make a wrong" (Public Service Announcement)
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• "Balance the benefits and risks of using medicine" (Public Service Announcement)
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• "Drug Interactions: What You Should Know"

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Buying Medicines

• "Buying Prescription Medicines Online:  A Consumer Safety Guide "
  
  
• "Buying Medicines and Medical Products Online"
  
  
• "Looks can be deceiving.  The medicine you buy across the borders
  may be unsafe or ineffective." (Posted 10/24/2002)
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  • Spanish language graphic image-PDF (Posted 10/29/2002)
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Over-the-Counter Drug Products

• The New Label--It's Clearly Better (Radio Public Service Announcements) (Posted 5/15/2003)
  
  
• "Soon, all over-the-counter medicines will have one thing in common. Simplicity." (Public Service Announcement)  (Posted 10/18/2002)  
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• "The New Over-the-Counter Medicine Label: Take a Look"  (Brochure)
  
  
• "Over-the-Counter Medicines: What's Right for You?"  Information distributed as a public service by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA).
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Generic Drug Products

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• "Generic Drugs: Safe. Effective. FDA Approved."  (Three Public Service Announcements) 
  
  
• "You know that question that goes through your mind when you take your generic drug?  Here's the answer."   
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• "You know that question that goes through your mind when you take your generic drug?  Here are the answers." (Brochure)  (Posted 1/6/2003)
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• "FDA Ensures Equivalence of Generic Drugs." (Chapter from From Test Tube to Patient PDF)    (Posted 1/6/2003)
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• "Generic Drugs: Questions and Answers"  

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Misuse of Medicines

• Misuse of Prescription Pain Relievers
  • "The Buzz Takes Your Breath Away. Permanently." (web site)
    • http://www.rx.samhsa.gov/    (Posted 01/16/2003)
  • "The Buzz Takes Your Breath Away. Permanently." (public service announcement)
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  • "The Buzz Takes Your Breath Away. Permanently." (brochure)
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  • "It's to die for."  (public service announcement)
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Specific Drug Products

• Aspirin
  • "Aspirin for Reducing Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke: KNOW THE FACTS"  (3/12/2003)
      Public Service Announcement:
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  • "Aspirin for Reducing Your Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke: KNOW THE FACTS"  (3/12/2003)
       Brochure:
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  • "Before Using Aspirin to Lower Your Risk of Heart Attack or Stroke, Here is What You Should Know"  (3/13/2003)
        Fact Sheet:
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Consumer Information from Other Government Agencies

• "Five Steps to Safer Health Care" (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)    
  • "Cinco Recomendaciones para Recibir una Mejor Atención Médica" (Spanish version of Five Steps to Safer Health Care)
• "Patient Fact Sheet:  20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors" (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) 
• "Patient Fact Sheet:  20 Tips to Help Prevent Medical Errors in Children" (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality)  
• MEDLINEplus (National Library of Medicine)
  •  MEDLINEplus en español
• Healthfinder  (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)