Big Pharm
Sept. 28/10
Dear Legislators,
The CMA has recently urged the provinces to fund pharmaceutical smoking cessation aids.
Such drugs have never been more aggressively marketed than in the last 5 years, yet smoking rates have remained stagnant in that same period as we have recently learned from the Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey report. Are our medical authorities suffering from attention deficit disorder to keep endorsing and recommending useless smoking cessation methods and now asking taxpayers to foot the bill for ‘’remedies’’ that have a documented 98,4% long term failure rate? (1)
One French media recently did an in-depth enquiry on the cessation drug market (2). The lies being served to us about these remedies are scandalous! Do we really want the taxpayers to subsidize this type of fraudulent marketing? Do we really want to raise the already prohibitive tobacco taxes, as it was suggested by some, to only make the pharmaceutical industry richer all the while creating an even bigger underground market in Canada? Why don’t our medical authorities ever reveal the fact that the inexpensive ”cold turkey” method is by far the most successful? Can we think of any other medication with a 98,4% failure rate that would be endorsed by a medical association?
We say a resounding NO to state funding of pharmaceutical quit smoking aids. Enough with the incestuous relationship between the pharmaceutical giants and a prestigious association that is shamelessly abusing our trust!
(1)
(2)
Iro Cyr
Vice-President
C.A.G.E.
April 24, 2007
Corrections
A recent News article1 contained an error concerning the vaccine that GlaxoSmithKline is developing. The sentence “GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix will block HPV strains linked to 80% of cervical cancers” should have read as follows: “GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix may block HPV strains linked to 80% of cervical cancers.” We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.
REFERENCE
Comeau P. Debate begins over public funding for HPV vaccine. CMAJ 2007;176(7):913-4
Reps. Waxman and Markey Introduce Counterpart to Enzi-Kennedy Drug Safety Bill
WASHINGTON, March 20, 2007 – Today Representatives Henry A. Waxman (D-CA) and Edward J. Markey (D-MA), two senior members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, announced the introduction of H.R. 1561, the House counterpart to the Enzi-Kennedy Enhancing Drug Safety and Innovation Act of 2007 (S. 484). H.R. 1561 builds on the Senate drug safety bill to further increase FDA’s post-market drug safety authority, provide greater FDA transparency, and enhance the mandatory clinical trial database created in the Enzi-Kennedy bill.
Stelmach’s Conservative government outlines direction after Ralph Klein’s reign
KATHERINE HARDING
EDMONTON — Albertans got a better idea on Wednesday afternoon about what life will be like in the country’s wealthiest province post-Ralph Klein.
Alberta Throne Speech maps out new approach
— A new pharmaceutical strategy will aim to reduce costs and improve the range of available drugs.
–“Bill 1, the Lobbyist Act, will give all Albertans public access to information regarding individuals and organization seeking to influence government decisions,” the throne speech says. “It [the government] will also take measures to improve information provided to the public about who has contacts with government.”
–“The fact that this is Bill 1 is a testament to the importance we place on being accountable to Albertans,” the premier told reporters. While he declined to get into what made the legislation necessary or who was lobbying him, he cited drug companies as an example of private interests that might lobby to have a drug placed on the list of drugs covered by Alberta health insurance.
So, it is clear that drug companies have a great deal of influence over … In this case, scientific studies led them to believe that Celebrex did in fact …
Doctors urge caution as drug firms lobby hard for mass vaccination campaign
Sarah Boseley, health editor March 26, 2007
