UK Parliament SMASHES Big Pharma...

UK House of Commons Health Committee Report:
"The Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry"
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200405/cmselect/cmhealth/42/42.pdf

Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen

Thursday, April 7th, 2005

Just two days ago, in my newsletter article The
Coming "US Health Movement v. Big Pharma" Codex
War..., I announced the demise of Big Pharma's
attempt to shut down the supplement industry.
But little did I know at the time that that day,
Tuesday, April 5th, 2005, would go down in the
annals as a double-whammy of Big Pharma's
murderous intent. Wait 'til you read this.

Sit up straight. For, this story you are almost
NOT going to believe. I'm going to have to
convince you with data. To do that I'm going to
tell you that you are going to have to do what I
just did - you're going to have to read a 126
page report just issued by the British government
titled "House of Commons Health Committee - THE
INFLUENCE OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY"

The British government is setting up the
"guillotine." There's going to be a "Bastille
Day" in London. Sell your pharmaceutical stock -
quick.

This morning I received an e-mail from health
freedom advocate Larry Hanus (ljhanz@yahoo.com)
who said:

Dear Friends,

This is a most important document. I encourage
you to read it in it's entirety. Please make
time to do so. You might want to read through
the conclusions and recommendations beginning on
page 97 of the report, then go back and read the
entire document.

Please ensure that your legislators have a copy
of this. The UK has provided an excellent
blueprint of what can and MUST be done here in
the United States with regards to restoring the
proper balance between the pharmaceutical
industry, it's regulatory agency, our political
leaders and the public trust. As those who
worked on this document conclude - the welfare
and health of the people is of paramount
importance. All decisions made should ultimately
be to benefit the public health.

I did just what Larry said to do - and he was
absolutely right. This report is dynamite. The
conclusions and recommendations are ASTOUNDING.
They sound like they came out of the mouth of the
North American Health Freedom Movement. For
example:

The commercial success of the industry is not in
doubt, nor is its ability to produce excellent
science and important drugs; however, its ability
to put the health of the nation consistently
before the needs and expectations of its
shareholders may be questioned. The evidence to
this inquiry indicated that, in recent years,
large pharmaceutical companies have become ever
more focused on a marketing-based approach. In
our view, this is the source of many of the
problems we have identified. However, these
problems are global and we received no evidence
that the situation in the UK was worse than in
other countries.

In Chapter 8 we examined the overall influence of
the pharmaceutical industry. It is widely
welcomed and relied on, but it is also pervasive
and persistent. Our over-riding concerns are
about the volume, extent and intensity of the
industry's influence, not only on clinical
medicine and research but also on patients,
regulators, the media, civil servants and
politicians.

The failings we have described have consequences,
in particular: The unsafe use of drugs; and The
increasing medicalisation of society. These
problems have existed in many countries. The UK
may have a better record than many others. Drugs
have been used unsafely in every country and we
have no doubt that the drift towards
medicalisation is a global phenomenon.

I won't go into what the report said about "the
unsafe use of drugs" - for the Vioxx scandal, et
al, are common knowledge. Read the report about
those findings. But what I find terribly
enlightening is their section on "The increasing
medicalisation of society." For example:

A major and recurring issue raised during the
inquiry is the increased 'medicalisation' of our
society – the pill for every problem.

The belief that every problem may be solved with
medication seems particularly relevant in the
context of antidepressants. While we readily
accept that antidepressants can be effective
medicines and have been successfully used by many
patients,... Unhappiness is part of the spectrum
of human experience, not a medical condition.

This trend has not been created by the
pharmaceutical industry but it has been
encouraged by it. The industry has acted, in the
words of some witnesses, as a "disease-monger",
with the aim of categorising an increasing number
of individuals as 'abnormal' and thereby
requiring (drug) treatment. This process has led
to an unhealthy over-reliance on, and an over-use
of, medicines. It also diverts resources and
priorities from more significant diseases and
health problems.

The "Conclusions" section of the report reads
like one of my opinion pieces. But, what will
stun you is the report's "Recommendations."
There were forty eight (48) of those, all told,
which, basically, would shut down Big Pharma's
pervasive influence and control, and provide
attention to non-drug therapies. These included:
(1) removal of most drug advertising, (2) tighter
monitoring of drugs before and after launch, (3)
government funding for non-drug alternatives, (4)
monitoring of funding of "patient" groups, (5)
training in medical schools on how to evaluate
drugs versus non-drug therapies, and much, much,
much, much, more.

Read the report - "House of Commons Health
Committee - THE INFLUENCE OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL
INDUSTRY"

We are heading for a health care "Nuremberg..."
And, it's about time...

Stay tuned...
Tim Bolen - Consumer Advocate