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America on meds

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TTWS reader Nancy B. says:

Thank you for sharing the Consumer Reports health blog/video ad. Until I read the article, I had no idea that the U.S. is one of only two countries in the world (the other is New Zealand) where pharmaceutical ads are legal. The following info contained in the article was also dismaying: "While Congress recently gave the FDA more authority to regulate ads, it rejected a measure that would have allowed the agency to place a moratorium on ads for new drugs that raise safety concerns."

Then listen to the NPR interview about the Vioxx settlement.

The executive editor of JAMA says in the interview: "The lesson is that you should not believe one thing--- not anything---that a pharmaceutical company says. That where you should start from...."

She goes on to say that it's all about marketing and not science anymore.

Wake up, America

!

Comments

I only wish that a reporter or academic would consider why 26,000 members of the Zyprexa class settled for $1.2 billion when a similarly sized Vioxx class received $4.8 billion. Was it the nature of the classes, the injuries, the representation, etc.?

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About

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Liz Spikol is senior contributing editor of Philadelphia Weekly. She writes the award-winning column The Trouble With Spikol, which began as a chronicle of her struggle with mental illness, and has since expanded into humorous musings on everything from graphic novels to how to use a mop. She also writes the paper's book review column, Lit Gloss. This blog -- named one of the Top 10 Bipolar Blogs of 2007 by PsychCentral -- is about mental illness policy, news, personal journeys and more.