Often, we rely on pharmaceuticals to ensure physical or emotional well-being.
When it comes to something as important as our health, we rely upon professionals to guide us toward making the right decisions.
How, then, are we to react when we learn that some doctors are looking out for their own interests more than ours?
It was recently reported that Forest Laboratories maintained a massive marketing and advertising campaign for its drug Lexapro (check out the list of warnings) that goes far beyond tote bags and TV commercials. They paid millions of dollars to thousands of primary care doctors and psychiatrists to promote their product with their peers.
This isn’t illegal: it’s only against the law for doctors to be paid for prescribing medications to their patients, not to urge their colleagues to do the same. But while Forest was lining the pockets of doctors to promote its products, there was no evidence suggesting that Lexapro was any better than generic versions of similar drugs that can be purchased for much, much less.
Plus, Forest is involved in a civil lawsuit with federal prosecutors for illegally marketing Lexapro, and drug giant Pfzier was recently blasted for more than 2 billion dollars in a settlement stemming from the illegal marketing of one of their painkillers.
All of this to say that we need to be savvy consumers, because Forest Laboratories isn't the only drug maker to pay doctors to promote products: industry leaders Eli Lilly, Pfizer, Novartis and Merck also use this tactic. Hopefully you have a doctor you can trust and respect, but whether you do or don't it never hurts to ask questions about the medications you're being prescribed.
If you’re not quite sure about ingesting a generic brand, the FDA has set up a site where you can find equivalents for big-name pharmaceuticals that are proven safe.
--Brandon
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