The pharmaceutical industry has long and vehemently insisted that it has the willingness, the dedication, and the ability to police itself to insure that the public will not be unnecessarily harmed or defrauded. As the record shows with painful clarity, however, virtually no industry or professional group has ever adequately policed itself, and the pharmaceutical industry is no exception. Where the most flagrant abuses have been exposed and corrected, major credit most publicized the situation, consumer groups that applied pressure, government officials who took actions that were often unpopular, and individual members of the pharmaceutical industry who had the courage to face up to their social responsibilities.