In the past year or so, our Reports to Congress, our Budget documents (including responses to the Appropriations Committee - the folks who fund our agency), even our Personnel Directives are noticeably better. In fact, not only are they better, some of the directions for preparing them clearly state, "Write this in Plain English." Talk about a government fad not going away! We are doing just fine.

What else is new at FDA? As we move from Plain Language awareness to motivation, we've begun to use new slogans targeted to specific staff members. I've got copies for you.

• Scientists: Be clear, be quick, and make the point stick!
• Attorneys: Plain Language makes a winning case.
• Budget Analysts: Jargon is no bargain; use Plain Language.
• IT Professionals: Plain Language: Keeping the information highway clear.
• Reg Writers: Before we can regulate, let's clearly communicate. Write in Plain Language
• Public Affairs Specialists: Writing clear with less is just good press.

We have also incorporated Plain Language awards into our regular annual FDA Awards programs -so not just other writers, but all FDA staff get a chance to see plain, clear writing recognized by the Commissioner and the Center Directors.

And, since I work in FDA's Executive Secretariat, I am very pleased about our progress in making letters easier to understand and more to the point. No more 4-page scientific treatises to consumers who ask a simple question.

Other successes? Well, what has made a real difference to virtually all consumers is our new and improved food and drug labels. I'm not sure that the developers of these labels were thinking, "This is Plain Language" but the results could not have been more in keeping with Plain Language goals. You are all familiar with the food labels. Well, information on OTC drug labels has a similar look & the information is now much easier for the "intended audience" to understand.

But food labels still need to be improved - the nutrition info is fine, but allergy info is not. Some firms are still using obscure terms like caseinate and whey, which doesn't help folks who have milk allergies know what to avoid. The same is true for firms who use terms like semolina instead of wheat. So, this year, one of FDA's stated goals is to "develop a strategy to improve the labeling of the most common allergens…using plain English labeling."

And a recent study has pointed to the need for FDA to become more involved in Prescription drug labeling, so that's next. A recent survey, reported last month in the Washington Post, showed that while more than 75% of the prescription drugs that consumers receive contain some kind of information, the quality of the information is quite uneven. The report stated, "Pamphlets provided by pharmacies are often poorly written, and may be virtually illegible due to type size and format."