Dietary supplements, unlike drugs, are not evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before they are released for sale. In general, as long as manufacturers do not claim that their product cures or controls a particular disease, that product can be marketed as a dietary supplement. Adverse effects sometimes occur with use of dietary supplements, and manufacturers are not required to collect data about adverse effects or to report this information to the FDA. Information about adverse effects becomes public knowledge only when a physician or patient reports an association between the product and an adverse reaction to the FDA or to a medical journal.