See also Architecture; Life coaching; Sustainable
design movement.
Fen-phen
Definition A combination of two prescription
drugs for weight loss
Producers Marketed by Wyeth-Ayerst
Laboratories, the pharmaceutical division of
American Home Products (AHP);
manufactured by Interneuron Pharmaceuticals
The American public welcomed a medical solution to obe-
sity, but after approximately a year of publicity and wide-
spread use of fen-phen, the Food and Drug Administration
recommended withdrawal of one of the two drugs because of
side effects.
Americans had been trying to lose weight for de-
cades and instead were getting heavier and heavier.
In 1992, a National Institute of Health (NIH) panel
declared obesity a national problem, damaging both
psychological and physical health, yet dieting alone
rarely achieved permanent weight loss, as explained
in books such as Dr. Dale M. Atrens’sDon’t Diet
(1988). People were ready for a prescription that
would cure obesity: Fen-phen seemed to be that so-
lution.
Phentermine was approved for weight loss by the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1959 but
was never prescribed widely on its own. Fenflura-
mine was approved by the FDA in 1973 and called
Pondimin, but the drug was not popular because it
caused drowsiness and mood changes. In April,
1996, the FDA approved dexfenfluramine, called
Redux. Both phentermine and fenfluramine/dex-
fenfluramine reduce hunger by affecting neuro-
chemicals, primarily serotonin.
A 1992 study in theJournal of Clinical Pharmacology
found that 121 obese patients on fen-phen lost an av-
erage of thirty pounds each. This news spread in the
popular press, later aided by a $52 million market-
ing campaign for Redux. In 1996, approximately six
million patients, mostly women, took fen-phen. Al-
though the drug was intended for short-term use
only by seriously overweight patients, some doctors
prescribed it indefinitely and to patients who were
merely unhappy with their weight. Fen-phen mills
popped up on the Internet. The drug made the
cover ofTimemagazine; sales of Pondimin and
Redux were estimated at $300 million in 1996.
Early on, some doctors noted that some fen-phen
users developed pulmonary hypertension, a thick-
ening of blood vessels in the lungs that causes diffi-
culty breathing. Then, in August, 1997, an article in
The New England Journal of Medicineannounced that
some patients on fen-phen developed heart disease,
particularly in the mitral and aortic valves, and in
September, 1997, the FDA asked for a withdrawal of
Pondimin and Redux. In October, 1999, AHP, while
admitting no wrong, agreed to pay $3.75 billion to
users of their two popular drugs, and settlements in
other cases followed.Impact The short-lived fen-phen craze and its end
increased both popular anxiety about weight and
caution concerning weight-loss products and their
promises. Medical debate continues over fen-phen’s
effectiveness, as well as the degree to which it was re-
sponsible for the side effects that ended its sale.
While some health problems due to obesity are clear,
the rush for fen-phen shows that social stigma and
worries about appearance also motivate many peo-
ple who want to lose weight. Until a truly effective
and safe drug to control hunger is found, pharma-
cology will continue to offer better treatment of ill-
nesses linked to obesity than of the condition itself.Further Reading
Food and Drug Administration.Fen-Phen Safety Up-
date Information. http://www.fda.gov/cder/news/
feninfo.htm.
Mundy, Alicia.Dispensing with the Truth: The Victims,
the Drug Companies, and the Dramatic Stor y Behind
the Battle over Fen-Phen. New York: St. Martin’s
Press, 2001.
Bernadette Lynn BoskySee also Antidepressants;Beauty Myth, The;Drug
advertising; Fads; Faludi, Susan; Food trends;
Health care; Medicine; Pharmaceutical industry. Ferguson, Colin
Identification American mass murderer
Born January 14, 1958; Kingston, JamaicaFerguson’s murders on the Long Island Rail Road fueled
racial tensions in and around New York City and led to seri-
ous concerns about the security of the subway system and328 Fen-phen The Nineties in America