Pharmaceutical fraud

gc

Electoral Member
May 9, 2006
931
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Kevin Trudeau in his bestseller on preserving your health also lauded the vitamin and criticized the health lobbyists who promote sunscreens and staying covered at all times. Looks like he and many others like him were prescient: if you want to feel good and stay healthy you need sun exposure and when you don't get enough enhance your body's vitamin production through supplements.
I'm all for it!
And I'm still angry!

I wouldn't trust anything Kevin Trudeau says:

Trudeau's legal problems are long-standing. In 1990, he posed as a doctor in order to deposit $80,000 in false checks, and in 1991 he pled guilty to larceny after he had provided false information to obtain credit cards which he used for his own purposes. He spent two years in prison because of this conviction

One common criticism by consumer groups is that Trudeau has had no medical training. Trudeau responds that by not having such, he is not biased towards pharmaceutical companies and the FDA, and that medical doctors "are taught only how to write out prescriptions" for "poisons" and "cut out pieces of a person's anatomy."
Another criticism is that Trudeau's claims are usually not backed by research, and that much of his information is an overpriced repackaging of preexisting natural cure remedies. For example, "A Complete Handbook of Nature Cure" is a widely available PDF book with natural treatments that claim to cure a range of ailments.

I apologize for using wikipedia as a source, I'm too lazy. Kevin Trudeau is making millions on the stupidity of others.

Talking about fraud I am incensed about the health and pharmaceutical industry's inability to carry the ball on vitamins. For decades we were told by government health gurus that all we needed was a well balanced diet and supplements wouldn't be necessary. What a bunch of hooey. This week's mindblowing announcements on the benefits of Vitamin D follow similar disclosures over the last year. The National and the Globe reported yesterday there is no bigger weapon in the fight against many cancers than Vitamin D. Taking 2000 units a day will halve breast cancer rates and more startlingly reduce colon and related cancers by two-thirds. This is shocking information. How many lives would have been saved if vitamin D had been given the importance it deserves years ago?

What should the pharmaceutical industry be doing in regards to vitamin D?
 

gc

Electoral Member
May 9, 2006
931
20
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Andrew Weil, on the other hand, is someone whose opinion I respect....and he's actually a doctor.
 

tracy

House Member
Nov 10, 2005
3,500
48
48
California
People are ridiculous. We put more crap into our bodies than anywhere else on the planet, then we blame the drug companies for keeping us sick rather than curing us. How about we give some consideration to PREVENTING disease in the first place? Don't want a heart attack? Put down the burger and go for a walk. Don't want HIV? There are these new things out there called condoms. Don't want type 2 gestational diabetes? Maybe you should reconsider that pop and your ice cream. We have a lot of power to limit the profits of those pharmaceutical bad guys.

I also seriously doubt anyone who says pharmaceutical companies can cure diseases but just don't because they want to maintain their profit. Those statements are usually followed by "So use this herb to cure your cancer, it'll only cost you $200 a month so send your money to.....".
 

tracy

House Member
Nov 10, 2005
3,500
48
48
California
By the way, the original post has conflicting information. Either it costs $7, $70 or $200 million to get a drug to market. Where do they get their figures from I wonder?
 

gc

Electoral Member
May 9, 2006
931
20
18
People are ridiculous. We put more crap into our bodies than anywhere else on the planet, then we blame the drug companies for keeping us sick rather than curing us. How about we give some consideration to PREVENTING disease in the first place? Don't want a heart attack? Put down the burger and go for a walk. Don't want HIV? There are these new things out there called condoms. Don't want type 2 gestational diabetes? Maybe you should reconsider that pop and your ice cream. We have a lot of power to limit the profits of those pharmaceutical bad guys.

Good point.

I also seriously doubt anyone who says pharmaceutical companies can cure diseases but just don't because they want to maintain their profit. Those statements are usually followed by "So use this herb to cure your cancer, it'll only cost you $200 a month so send your money to.....".

Depends. Pharmaceutical companies will not invest hundreds of millions of dollars if it does not make them a profit. This is one reason why there is little research done to find new antibiotics. But, I don't believe the conspiracy theorists who believe that pharmaceutical comapanies already have a cure for cancer etc. I do agree with your last line, there's con artists in the herb business as well (see Kevin Trudeau :pukeright:).
 

tracy

House Member
Nov 10, 2005
3,500
48
48
California
Overdose by Jay S Cohen, page 168
An independent research center could study other uses of new medications that were not studied by their manufacturers. It could research new uses or problems with generic drugs, which drug companies do not study because the patents of generic drugs have lapsed and there is little likelihood of profit.


This is actually pretty common in some areas. They call it off-label uses of medication. In my area of work, many of our drugs originally started that way. It's also how Viagra became a treatment for erectile disfunction (that wasn't it's original use).
 

gc

Electoral Member
May 9, 2006
931
20
18
By the way, the original post has conflicting information. Either it costs $7, $70 or $200 million to get a drug to market. Where do they get their figures from I wonder?

I noticed that too. I'm pretty sure it's closer to $200 million (at least).
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
22
38
Oshawa ON
Thanks for the info on Trudeau! Seems like the surname is a calling card for subterfuge!
But I still think there's more out there than we've told that will contribute to our health. Vitamin D is getting a lot of coverage lately. From the reports on tv I've seen and coverage in the Star and Globe it looks like many if not most Canadians are deficient in the vitamin during the winter months. Given the scare put into us by the medical lobby we might even be deficient in the summer months. Sun is essential for the vitamin's production and we're simply told to avoid it. Something's garbled in the translation there.
But the cancer numbers given lately are startling and if Vitamin D is the bullet required I say let's all get some!
 

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
15,441
150
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In a paper I did, the source I found put the average price to bring a drug to market at $238 Million.

For anyone who doubts the capitalist motivations for the drug companies, research DCA and wonder why this drug is not being mass produced. I'll give you a hint, theres no patent, so it limits the profitability. The drug has been used on a limited basis in the past for various metabolic disorders, and now UofA researchers have found that it kills heart, lung, breast and brain cancers, without harming the healthy cells of those organs.

heres a link
 

Sparrow

Council Member
Nov 12, 2006
1,202
23
38
Quebec
With all the billions of dollars raised for Cancer and Aids you would think they would have found a cure, but would it be profitable! Also nobody is researching prevention of cancer because they cannot get funding. Why? They are too busy inventing and researching chemicals to pump into us and make a loooooooooot of money.
 

tamarin

House Member
Jun 12, 2006
3,197
22
38
Oshawa ON
Tonington. Glen Beck featured DCA tonight. I know the lad's a little crazy but he is entertaining. As with vitamin D, if there are simple and effective means to disease prevention these should be actively and publicly promoted.
 

gc

Electoral Member
May 9, 2006
931
20
18
In a paper I did, the source I found put the average price to bring a drug to market at $238 Million.

For anyone who doubts the capitalist motivations for the drug companies, research DCA and wonder why this drug is not being mass produced. I'll give you a hint, theres no patent, so it limits the profitability. The drug has been used on a limited basis in the past for various metabolic disorders, and now UofA researchers have found that it kills heart, lung, breast and brain cancers, without harming the healthy cells of those organs.

heres a link

Thanks for the link. It's surprising how such a simple compound could potentially become a drug to treat cancer. This is one good reason that we need more public funding for research!
 

gc

Electoral Member
May 9, 2006
931
20
18
With all the billions of dollars raised for Cancer and Aids you would think they would have found a cure, but would it be profitable! Also nobody is researching prevention of cancer because they cannot get funding. Why? They are too busy inventing and researching chemicals to pump into us and make a loooooooooot of money.

The money raised by charity for cancer/Aids research, as well as taxpayer moeny goes to non-profit places like Universites. It's not as easy as it sounds to find a cure, trust me. You have to kill all the cancer cells without killing the healthy cells...but progress is being made.