Saturday, June 14, 2008

Our Daily Meds - Learn How U.S. Drug Companies Are Keeping Americans Doped Up


Hear an On Point Radio discussion with Melody Petersen on the subject of drug company marketing, and how it is impacting the health of Americans.

Learn how drug marketing deregulation has led to a free-for-all in advertising. Direct to consumer prescription drug marketing (once prohibited) is now big business. But it has led to the overuse of prescription drugs - good for the drug companies, but not necessarily good for the health of patients. The cozy relationship between doctors, and drug companies is down right scary to me.

How much can we really trust the drug efficacy research? Do we really know all of the risks?

Hear Program

Amy Goodman from Democracy Now looked at this issue last year in a piece called "Big Bucks, Big Pharma". Watch/Listen Here.

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Related

Not only is there a cozy relationship between doctors and drug companies, but there is also a long-standing cozy relationship between drug companies and the FDA. Learn more here and here.

2 comments:

Truthiz said...

IMO, ONE of the best _OR worst_kept OPEN secrets in America (depending on one's point of view), is that the CEOs of U.S. pharmaceutical companies, and the CARTELS those CEOs have created_are the BIGGEST drug dealers in America, if not the world_?!

Turn on ANY TV in America, watch ANY station that's funded by commercials and you'll see an ENDLESS stream of drug ads, no matter the time of day you're watching.

Keeping the masses "doped up", distracted by, and DEPENDENT on, all kinds of so-called "legal" drugs while American pharmaceutical fat-cats and their POLITICAL pals in "HIGH" places roll in the $$$ is but, yet, another stellar example of...

..."it's the American way."

Brian said...

And some of these drugs have addictive qualities that go unreported or underreported. That is why incidents of prescription drug addiction are so high.

And it's all about price controls (keeping prices jacked up).... Canada, Cuba and Mexico get the same drugs for far less (and are therefore able to sell them for far less money to people who actually do need them). Then these companies try to prevent U.S. citizens from importing the same drugs from other parts of N. America.

It's a corrupt industry.

Hopefully the next President will put a real FDA in place. The current FDA is a rubber stamp facilitator for this nonsense.