In March, the consumer group Public Citizen asked the government to investigate whether the company had shipped asthma inhalers to patients knowing that they were defective.

The ad drew criticism from the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen, which called the ad's comparisons misleading.

"It is very misleading," said Deepak Gupta, a lawyer for the consumer group Public Citizen, who helped write the objectors' brief.

The consumer group Public Citizen has compiled a long list of documented benefits from Federal health and safety regulations.

The consumer group Public Citizen took a look back at them.

The consumer group Public Citizen argued during yesterday's hearing against Pargluva's approval, citing increased cardiovascular deaths among the drug's users in clinical trials.

The consumer group Public Citizen said a conservative organization, the United Seniors Association, had spent millions of dollars to promote the Republicans' prescription drug plan.

"It's malarkey," said Joan Claybrook, a former regulator and the president of the consumer group Public Citizen.

The consumer group Public Citizen released a report last month documenting the benefits of Federal health and safety standards.

The advocacy group Public Citizen has lobbied for increasing safety warnings and for the removal of some fluoroquinolone drugs from clinical practice.