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I'm of the opinion that many here seem to share: part of the problem is that people are taking sunblock and staying out in the sun way more than they ever would without it. They will specifically tan longer, and more often, because they believe the sun block will keep skin cancer from knocking on their door somewhere down the line.
Also, thalidomide still has many uses in medicine- just not for women of child-bearing age. There are plenty of products that do wonderful things but cannot be used in some circumstances. A current example is Accutane- you have to get checked out and given a pregnancy test by your doctor before it's prescribed to you, and then you go into a national database (all number-driven, no names or SSN's are used at all) that shows you comply to not being pregnant and not planning to become pregnant, before they finally give it to you at the pharmacy. This is to prevent flipper babies. The drug, however, does great things as long as you don't become pregnant while it's in your system.
Bad drugs are ones that cause bad side effects. I can't remember the name, but a few years ago, a drug was taken off the market that treated high blood pressure. It did that job well, but it turns out it destroyed people's livers. That's not an acceptable side effect- and it happens to everyone, not a select group.
The side effect of thalidomide is only applicable to those who are pregnant. This just means they can't give it to pregnant people, much like a person on lithium can't take viagra. There are factors that, in the right combination, mean you can't take a particular drug.
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