Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs
An “angrily illuminating” (The New York Times) exposé of Big Pharma’s corrupting influence in America todayIn the last thirty years, pharmaceutical companies have seized control of American medicine by putting their marketers in charge. They invent diseases in order to sell the pills that "cure"...
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An “angrily illuminating” (The New York Times) exposé of Big Pharma’s corrupting influence in America todayIn the last thirty years, pharmaceutical companies have seized control of American medicine by putting their marketers in charge. They invent diseases in order to sell the pills that "cure" them. They sway doctors by giving them resort vacatopms, gourmet meals, and fistfuls of cash. They advertise prescription drugs at NASCAR races, on subways, and even in churches. Medicines can save lives, but the relentless promotion of these products has come at tremendous cost. Prescription pills taken as directed are estimated to kill one American every five minutes. More Americans are addicted to medications than cocaine. And roads have become less safe as the over-medicated take to the wheel. In Our Daily Meds, journalist Melody Petersen connects the dots to show how subtle, far-reaching, and dangerous Big Pharma's powers have become.
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Format: paperback
ASIN: B0036DE40K
Publish date: 2009-03-03
Publisher: Picador
Pages no: 448
Edition language: English
I thought I was plenty cynical about Big Pharma. Then I read this book and found that my view was rosy and innocent in the extreme. It's a damning indictment of the current practices of the industry, including making up diseases which don't exist so they can advertise drugs that don't work, subornin...