Other than the fact this country is somehow related to Old Zealand, not many people know much about New Zealand except that it's somewhere over there, perhaps not that far from Australia. Not that talking about Australia is much help with the geography. Anyway, it's actually an island country and its major claim to fame is that it has significantly more sheep than people. It used to be a British colony but they forgot where it is and so made it independent. The other claim to fame is its legal system which was also left behind by the British. Supposedly that's based on tort, just like our system. But there the similarity ends.

When you look at all the headlines for a day, you can't help seeing endless news about legal cases. It seems we live in dangerous times. Cars run out of control when they should stop. Food and drugs should be safe, but they make us ill. Financial companies lend us money on predatory terms or gouge us on fees. Firms like Walmart may be run on the basis of sex discrimination. There are cases about every last possible thing that might cause us harm - including the elections when the Supreme Court had to vote on who had won. It's hardly surprising the legal profession should have become a political issue. Some argue attorneys are out of control, harassing legitimate businesses with worthless cases. Others see them as the only thing preventing consumers from being even more thoroughly victimized. No matter who's right, one of the biggest areas of litigation involves drugs and the suggestion that, sometimes, they cause more harm than good.

When any manufacturer launches a new drug, the clinical trials have confirmed it will do more good than bad. But that does not eliminate the possibility some people may suffer adverse side effects. In the case of the most famous treatment for acne, the risks are well known. This did start off life as chemotherapy to treat cancer. It's hardly surprising it should have a bad effect on some people. Yet people continue to take the drug as if there's no risk, often deciding to increase the dosage or to take it for longer than is safe. Such is the pressure on people to rid themselves of acne.

There's new research out of New Zealand. A team of researchers managed to recruit 1,700 participants who all took Accutane at a very low dosage for long periods of time, the team following everyone's health for six years. All reported a significant improvement in their skin and only 13 stopped because of unpleasant side effects. In other words, there's no litigation in New Zealand alleging this drug is dangerous or unsafe. Here in the US, there are several high-profile cases alleging Accutane has caused all manner of different adverse effects. Whether this is true hardly matters. The reality is that we may be taking this drug at too high a dosage which increases the risk of harm. There's no reason to suppose the New Zealand research is defective so the moral is clear. If you want to get clear skin with minimal risk, use this drug at no more than 0.25mg/kg of your body weight.