I was shocked to read of the tragic death of Arielle Newman, a Staten Island, NYC, teenage track star. She died of methyl salicylate poisoning; In short, she overdosed on Ben Gay (or some such similar product). 

It sounds too strange to be true, but here's her local paper's latest story.

Who knew this stuff was dangerous? Not me. I immediately went to my bathroom shelves, and sure enough, the cheapo store brand "pain relieving cream" that I had bought contains 30% levels of the stuff. It's now in the trash.

Until I hear that menthol is also toxic, I will stick with All Terrain "Recovery Rub," which seems to be made with mostly natural ingredients. It's pricey, but it also smells better.

All this raises a larger question. We have a Food and Drug Administration, and all sorts of other consumer agencies. We have a government ostensibly of, by and for the people. So why do we the people allow corporations to poison us and our pets?