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produced the study was interviewed by Reuters and commented that "With these 10-minute appointments, it's hard for the doctor to get into whether the symptoms are bothering the patients". William Tierney, who editorialised on the NEJM study, said that "given the increasing number of powerful drugs available to care for the aging population, the problem will only get worse". The drugs with the worst record of side effects were the SSRIs, the NSAIDs and the calcium-channel blockers. Reuters also reported that prior research has suggested that nearly 5% of hospi- tal admissions—over one million per year—are the result of drug side effects. But most of the cases are not documented as such. The study found one of the reasons for this failure was that, in nearly two-thirds of the cases, doctors couldn't diagnose drug side effects or the side effects persisted because the doctor failed to heed the warning signs. r. private practice either acquiesce to their patients’ demands for these drugs or spend valuable clinic time trying to talk patients out of unnecessary drugs. Dr Wolfe remarks that one important study found that people mistakenly believe the "FDA reviews all ads before they are released and allows only the safest and most "46 effective drugs to be promoted directly to the public". Continued next issue... reported that prior research has suggested that nearly 5% of hospi- About the Authors: tal admissions—over one million per year—are the result of drug + Carolyn Dean, MD, ND, since 1979 has worked as a med- side effects. But most of the cases are not documented as such. ical doctor, naturopath, acupuncturist, herbalist, homoeopath, The study found one of the reasons for this failure was that, in consultant, inventor, herbal formulator, researcher, activist, advo- nearly two-thirds of the cases, doctors couldn't diagnose drug side Cate and writer. She has written several books, hundreds of arti- effects or the side effects persisted because the doctor failed to cles, appeared on countless radio and television Programs, heed the warning signs. including ABC S The View, promoting nat- ural healing and the individual's right to take responsibility for their own health. She is health adviser and writer for www.yeast- connection.com, www.curesnaturally.com, Medicating Our Feelings We only need to look at the side effects of antidepressant drugs, which give hope to a By 1995 and www. friendsoffreedom.com. She lives depressed population. Patients seeking a * in New York City and can be contacted via more jovial existence and relief om worry, drug companies had her website, http://)www.carolyndean.com. stress and anxiety fall victim to the messages . She is the main author of this article. blatantly displayed on TV and billboards. | tripled the amount of + Martin Feldman, MD, is a board-certi- Often, instead of finding relief, they fall vic- money allotted to fied neurologist and Assistant Professor of tim to myriad iatrogenic side effects of anti- . y AA Neurology at Mount Sinai Medical Center depressant medications. direct advertising of in New York City. He is the author of 63 Furthermore, a whole generation of r ription dr peer-reviewed journal articles and is at the antidepressant users has resulted from young presc pt ond ugs to forefront of understanding modern advances people growing up on Ritalin. consumers. in medical science. ‘cati fyi : ° Gary Null has a PhD in human Medicating youth and modifying their ae . emotions must have some impact on nutrition and is the host of the longest- ° a . iori running syndicated radio show on how they learn to deal with their The majority of health and nutrition in the USA. He feelings. They learn to equate coping the money is spent has published over 71 books, includ- with drugs and not with their inner . ing the New York Times best-sellers resources. As adults, these medicated on seductive Get Health Now! and Power Aging. youth reach for alcohol, drugs or even television ads He is also the producer of numerous street drugs to cope. According to . award-winning documentaries about JAMA [Aug 22-29, 2001], "Ritalin acts health and lifestyle. He is the founder much like cocaine". of the Natural Living Running Club, and has competed as a world-class Mood-modifying drugs, such as Prozac or Zoloft, are marketed in such a athlete. In 1975 he founded the not- for-profit corporation, Nutrition way as to make them not only socially 7 ) acceptable but almost a necessity in Institute of America, Inc. Dr Null can be contacted via his website, today's stressful world. omeay’s stressin Wor http://www.garynull.com. By 1995, drug companies had tripled the amount of money allotted to direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers. The majority of the money is spent on seductive http:/Awww.garynull.com. + Debora Rasio, MD, is a physician practising alternative med- icine in Rome, Italy. She is also an oncologist who has written extensively on cancer. Dr Rasio provided some of the initial research for this paper. Television Diagnosis In order to reach the widest audience possible, drug companies are no longer just targeting medical doctors with their message about antidepressants. By 1995, drug companies had tripled the amount of money allotted to direct advertising of prescription drugs to consumers. The majority of the money is spent on seductive television ads. From 1996 to 2000, spending rose from $791 million to nearly $2.5 billion [VEJM, Feb 14, 2002]. Even though $2.5 billion may seem like a lot, the authors comment that it only represents 15% of the total pharmaceutical advertising budget. According to medical experts, "there is no solid evidence on the appropriateness of prescribing that results from consumers requesting an advertised drug". However, the drug companies maintain that direct-to-consumer advertising is educational. Dr Sidney M. Wolfe, of the Public Citizen Health Research Group in Washington, DC, argues that the public is often misin- formed about these ads.** People want what they see on television and are told to go to their doctor for a prescription. Doctors in Editor's Note: Due to space constraints, we are unable to publish the endnotes accompanying this article (apart from including some brief details within the text). Instead, we have posted them with the article on our website, http://www.nexusmagazine.com. Readers without Internet access can request a copy of the endnotes from their near- est NEXUS Office. This article is copyright © 2003-2004 Nutrition Institute of America, Inc. (NIA), all rights reserved, and is reprinted by kind permission. No further duplication or distribution of this article is permitted without the express written permission of NIA. For fur- ther information regarding NIA, and for the full text of the article, visit http:/www.nutritioninstituteofamerica.org. For more articles relating to alternative health and nutrition, visit the library at Gary Null's Natural Living website, http:/Awww.garynull.com. 22 = NEXUS television ads. www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2004