AMA May Kill Endorsement Deal

CHICAGO: Prescribing damage control after downing a large dose of criticism, the American Medical Association's top executives are hoping to kill previously announced plans to exclusively endorse Sunbeam Corp. healthcare products. The New York Times reports AMA trustees will vote today on a proposal to block anticipated millions in royalty payments from Sunbeam and would permit the association to put its stamp on informational literature in packaging for health care products. Manufacturers would only pay enough to cover the cost of writing and printing the brochures.

Since the AMA hadn't actually tested Sunbeam's goods, making the proposed "stamp of approval" meaningless, critics complained the deal would have injured the organization's credibility. TIME science writer Christine Gorman agrees: "It's when the money is changing hands that we start questioning this kind of statement," she says.