Also see: Breaking News: Because We Love You, Ladies!
Glaxo's Ghostwriters
I'll never believe a doctor or medical journal again -- ever.
"60 doctors took speaker fees from drug giant" by Liz Kowalczyk, Globe Staff | September 29, 2009
At least 60 Massachusetts doctors collectively have earned more than a half-million dollars this year as speakers paid by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co.....
Related: Poisoning Our Kids: From Potions to Pills to Playgrounds
National Health Care: Who Will Pay the Bill?
The use of physicians in speakers programs or “bureaus’’ like Lilly’s, in which doctors generally use company-prepared materials to explain a drug’s uses and dosing to their colleagues, is widespread in the drug industry. But the practice is under growing scrutiny.... physicians essentially become hired advertising guns, with weakened credibility.
Did it to yourselves, doc. Better get a check-up.
Politicians, regulators, and some physicians also are concerned that doctors who give company-sponsored talks may present biased information that could underplay harmful side effects, or encourage the use of expensive brand name medications instead of less costly alternatives. When the company provides the power point, the risk of bias is even greater, they say.
Physicians on speakers bureaus, however, argue that they carefully screen the information for accuracy, and that the talks are a good way to educate the medical community about new drugs.
And PIMP your PRODUCTS!
Because of this debate and other problems - pharmaceutical firms have paid millions in fines for illegally marketing medications - companies are under political pressure to disclose their financial relationships with doctors. Lilly is one of the first companies to publicly release a list of paid consultants and speakers. It includes more than 60 Massachusetts doctors, who were paid approximately $588,000 for its speakers programs in the first three months of 2009. Some doctors earned up to $50,000 giving talks to their colleagues....
*******************Eric Campbell, a Mass. General researcher who found in surveys published in 2007 that 16 percent of all US doctors and 25 percent of hospital department heads belong to speakers bureaus. “Academics who want to be drug salesmen should go be drug salesman. But don’t do it under the shroud of academia.’’
Campbell said doctors have told him they need the money to pay for their children’s college educations.
Aww, the POOR DOCTOR, huh? Elitism is something else.
In return, he said, the companies get a renowned doctor talking about their drug who can draw a bigger audience than would a pharmaceutical company salesperson.
Dr. Steven Nissen, head of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, said doctors in speakers bureaus “are actually acting as an agent for the pharmaceutical company. That does create divided loyalties, and universities are realizing the challenges that presents.’’
Even so, speakers programs are still popular, and some doctors argue they are providing an educational service....
Yeah, EVEN SO!! Even if it STINKS to HIGH HEAVEN of CORRUPTION and PROFIT-PADDING, let it go. Now take your pill with this glass of water!
Just how lucrative the speaking bureaus can be is apparent in an offer from
In a letter to doctors, Schering-Plough says “you must present the Schering-Plough approved materials provided to you.’’ The company offered one psychiatrist, Dr. Daniel Carlat, a Tufts University Medical School professor, up to $170,000 over two years to give 125 45-minute talks in restaurants, in his office, and by telephone and the Internet. A well-known critic of the drug industry, Carlat declined.
“The idea is to have respected experts in the field educating other doctors,’’ said Schering-Plough spokesman Robert Consalvo. “It’s a promotional activity.’’
Yeah, it REALLY ISN'T ABOUT YOUR HEALTH, is it?
Here is the EFFECT of the OVER-PRESCRIPTIONS so drug companies can make dough, readers.
"Bad drug reactions in over 500,000 children" by Associated Press | September 28, 2009
CHICAGO - Parents should pay close attention when their children are started on medicines....
The study involved reactions to prescribed drugs, including accidental overdoses. They were used for a range of ailments including ear infections, strep throat, depression, and cancer. Among teens, commonly used medicines linked with troublesome side effects included birth control pills. Bad reactions to these pills included menstrual problems, nausea, and vomiting....
Just say NO to DRUGS, kids.
And it is NOT just the kids!
"In 16 states, more die by drugs than in cars" by Associated Press | October 1, 2009
ATLANTA - Drug-related deaths outnumber those from motor vehicle accidents in a growing number of states, according to new government data that highlight a shift in the top cause of deaths after disease and illness....
And here the government is worried about cellphones and texting!
Drug overdoses make up the majority of the drug-related deaths, and there was a sharp increase in fatalities tied to cocaine and to drugs known as opioid analgesics - including methadone, fentanyl, sedatives, and prescription painkillers like Vicodin and OxyContin....
So WHY the BIG HARANGUING about POT?!!
They blame weed even when it wasn't there!
Notice how quickly that story went down the rabbit hole?
The 2006 death counts and death rates were higher for drugs than for vehicle accidents in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. It’s not clear why certain states have seen such a shift. The explanation may vary a bit from state to state, said Bob Anderson at the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. Part of the story is that traffic death rates are going down....
--more--"
