
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 16, 1990                   TAG: 9007140340
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Tammy Poole
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

STATE CAN FURNISH COPY OF BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Q: In two weeks I'll be old enough to get my learner's permit so I can begin driving. However, my parents are divorced, and my mom can't find my birth certificate to apply for the permit. How can I get another one? - D.C., Wytheville

A: The Department of Motor Vehicles requires two forms of identification. You must show a Social Security card plus one of the following: birth certificate, military identification, passport, or a school transcript.

To obtain a copy of your birth certificate, send a written request to the Virginia Division of Vital Records, P.O. Box 1000, Richmond 23208-1000.

Include a $5 check payable to the State Health Department, and provide the following information: your full name at birth, the date and place of your birth, the full name of your father, your mother's full maiden name, and the reason you want the certificate.

You should receive the certificate in four or five weeks. To check on the status of your request, call the division at (804) 371-7867.

Generic drug recalled

A New York drug company has begun recalling a generic drug used to treat high blood pressure after the Food and Drug Administration alleged the company submitted false information to the agency.

Interpharm Inc. of Plainview, N.Y., agreed to recall all three strengths of clonidine hydrochloride tablets from distributors and pharmacies and to conduct an audit of its 24 other products, the FDA said.

The drug comes in small, round, blue tablets marked "IP 47."

Routine testing by the FDA found that "samples of clonidine hydrochloride 0.3 milligram tablets submitted for bioequivalence testing by Interpharm were not the same as the product on the market," the agency said.

The FDA said it had no evidence of a safety problem with the drug Interpharm was marketing, but questions whether the product is therapeutically equivalent to the brand name drug, Catapres, made by Boehringer Ingelheim.

FDA officials advised patients who use the product to consult with their physician about switching to another product.

Interpharm was one of 20 generic drug companies selected for intensified inspections last year in the wake of allegations that several companies had falsified documents and cheated on tests needed to win FDA approval.

The investigation that resulted has produced more than a dozen criminal convictions. More than 100 drugs have been recalled or withdrawn.

by CNB