FDA Safety Warnings are in place to inform prescribing doctors of potential drug hazards. This is not "One step below crying fire in a crowded theatre.", but an advisory notification following the mid-2011 warning issued by the French and German drug advisory board informing doctors to stop prescribing Actos.
Read this FDA link in its full
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm259150
I've been on Actos for 9 years and have no problems. Avandia is effectively off the market but ACTOS was not removed. The diabetic educator should know better that suggest someone get off a drug. Suggesting that he/she contact their M.D. was a good idea, but not necessarily required, unless the 'one man in the class' is having noticable adverse side-effects. Rumor monger statements and posts like this one are more scary than it actually should be. One step below crying fire in a crowded theatre. Moreover, it always seems to be a person told me, or it's about someone else. Could this post have been made by a competitor's detail rep? Yes, was it - who will ever know.
I'm taking diabetes classes with a certified diabetic instructor who is also an RN. One man in the class is taking Actos. She told him that he should be getting off of it immediately and suggested he call his doctor that day and schedule an appointment to discuss alternatives to Actos. It does sound like it is not a good thing to be on.
See this link for FDA issued warnings on Actos and Avandia
http://diabetes.niddk.nih.gov/dm/pubs/medicines_ez/insert_J.aspx
Kinda makes you wonder if it's time to leave the sinking ship.