Some people take doctor recommendations with high regard; however,
when the drugs being suggested are potentially life threatening,
such advice is anything but professional.
Big Pharma, as pharmaceutical corporations are known, has been
dubbed "the latest corporate villain" for its questionable -- some
even say criminal -- practices in search of higher revenues. In fact,
the United States is responsible for half of Big Pharma's global
profits.
This is because doctors are being paid to promote an awareness
of health conditions that need to be (ironically) treated with drugs
made by Big Pharma. Critics claim that panels of psychiatrists are
being paid large sums of money to invent mental illnesses, solely
for the purpose of selling drugs. Such deception could be destroying
the integrity of the medical profession.
Fortunately, the public is beginning to see the light, thanks to
the recent scandals surfacing regarding drug companies. A prime
example is how arthritis-drug Vioxx was pulled off the market after
the company belatedly admitted the drug induced cardiovascular conditions.
Such instances have stuck a thorn in the public's trust for
drug companies.
After years of never questioning what
the drug industry "claimed," the public is beginning to
see that the industry is:
- Hugely profitable and driven
- Obsessed with making profits
- Willing to stretch the law in order to make a buck
And Big Pharma is being called out, as a mass of new books by high-profile
authors and court cases have revealed the ways these companies have
managed to produce profits and cover up its secrets. Though as long
as politicians and doctors keep getting money, it is hard to tell
if Big Pharma will ever be defeated.
New
York Times December 6, 2004
| 