Drug firms a danger to health - report

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International research exposes flaws in £33bn marketing budget
Drug companies are accused today of endangering public health through widescale marketing malpractices, ranging from covertly attempting to persuade consumers that they are ill to bribing doctors and misrepresenting the results of safety and efficacy tests on their products.

In a report that charts the scale of illicit practices by drug companies in the UK and across Europe, Consumers International - the world federation of consumer organisations - says people are not being given facts about the medicines they take because the companies hide the marketing tactics on which they spend billions.

"Irresponsible marketing practices form a serious, persistent and widespread problem among the entire pharmaceutical industry," says the report, which analyses the conduct of 20 of the biggest companies, two of which are British. It calls for tougher government controls and for the companies to put their house in order.

Scandals such as the withdrawal of Vioxx, a drug to relieve pain and inflammation in arthritis, show that unethical drug promotion is a consumer concern, says the report. Merck withdrew the drug in September 2004, but allegedly knew it could increase the chances of heart attacks and strokes from 2000 and has been accused of manipulating study results to play down the risk. More than 6,000 lawsuits have been filed against the company in the United States by people who claim they suffered heart attacks as a result of the drug, or by their families.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,,1806084,00.html

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1. Amen, it is about time these medical/corporate thugs get exposed

...for the crimes they commit in the name of profits. If these practices have been going on in the UK and throughout Europe you can bet that they have been three times worse or more in the U.S. where quackery and malpractice has been honed to a fine art. Why do so many people taking medications other things such as blood pressure end up with adult type diabetes? I think it's because the drug companies and doctors know there is a high risk of side effects that cause the pancreas to malfunction after a prolonged period on these so called approved medications and once that happens it is only a matter of time and the patient ends up unable to produce sufficient insulin and becomes diabetic. Then the patient spends the rest of their lives being treated for another life threatening health problem. Even the insurance companies have known about this, but the whole system keeps it all hush hush while big dollars just keep rolling in. The medical professional has made the entire world sicker, not healthier and it is the patients who get the blame for poor life style habits.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. But but but...... Merck just had a commercial on that says

otherwise..... honest.

ALL DRUGS ARE TOXIC AT A SPECIFIC DOSAGE. Thank gawd that there are homologues in nature that do what most of the miracle drugs do.... more safely, more cheaply, and at times more effectively.

Just ask my diabetic friend in WPB.