May 1, 2012

“Don’t worry, be happy” slogan could harm your baby DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels The people's briefing note on prescription drugs • It’s springtime in Canada and with nature in full bloom, it’s timely to reflect on reproduction in all its forms. If you’re in the drug manufacturing business, your organization exists to...

Apr 1, 2012

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels The people's briefing note on prescription drugs • Why is more money going towards drug discovery research than drug safety research? Because that’s what the government of Canada is paying for. Today's fortune-tellers, horoscope writers and other modern soothsayers are very compelling figures. They are magnets for...

Mar 1, 2012

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels The people's briefing note on prescription drugs • Psst. Hey kid, try one of these. It’s really good stuff. Thus goes the standard pitch of the schoolyard pusher, selling the benefits of the product – so to speak – and expanding his market. What he seeks is a happy client who will hopefully come back for more....

Feb 8, 2012

DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels The people's briefing note on perscription drugs • A few years ago, I was invited to be the guest on an Ottawa radio talk show, the topic being something I was well familiar with, a book I co-wrote called Selling Sickness. The book explores how the pharmaceutical industry influences regulators, physicians and patients in order...

The people's briefing note on prescription drugs DRUG BUST by Alan Cassels I was interviewing a hospital physician in Ontario and we were discussing a drug that had recently been approved in Canada to prevent strokes and its potential to cause excessive bleeding. I knew something was wrong with this new drug, but I didn’t know how wrong until I was...