on whether the material was truthful, they would seek a judge to mediate. regulation in the united kingdom physicians in the united kingdom can prescribe medications off-label. according to general medical council guidance, the physician must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence or experience of using the medicine to demonstrate safety and efficacy. prescribing may be necessary when no suitably licensed medicine is available to meet the patient's need (or when the prescribing is part of approved research). veterinary medicines the veterinarian has a much smaller pharmacopeia available than does the human practitioner. therefore, drugs are more likely to be used "off-label" – typically, this involves the use of a human medication in an animal, where there is no corresponding medication licensed for that species. this problem is compounded in "exotic" species (such as reptiles and rodents) where there are very few, if any licensed medications. in addition, especially in europe, equine veterinarians are forced to use many drugs off-label, as the horse is classified as a "food-producing animal" and many veterinary drugs are labeled specifically not for use in animals intended for human consumption. this practice is permitted by the animal medicinal drug use clarification act of 1994 (p.l. 103-396). fda specifically prohibits extralabel use of a number of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and hormones in food producing animals. fda also tightly controls the use of certain veterinary-prescribed drugs when administered in the feed of food-producing animals.