|
HEALTH UPDATES
|
 Pharmaceutical Drugs Index
Adverse Drug Reactions may be the fourth leading cause of death in the US
Anesthetics ANILINE-INDUCED TOXICITIES FROM LOCAL ANESTHETICS. Aniline compounds are well-documented human poisons.
That's more than is spent on the raw materials forproducts. In the first eleven months of 1998, pharmaceutical companies in the United States spent over five billion dollars sending drug reps into doctors' offices and hospitals and another billion was spent on marketing events for doctors (NY Times, Jan 11, 1999). That's nearly one drug rep and almost 100,000 for every 11 practicing physician in the U.S. The pharmaceutical sales force has grown from about 35,000 full-time sales representatives and supervisors in 1994 to more than 56,000 in 1998 (NY Times, Jan 11, 1999). Forty-six per-cent of physicians reported that drug reps are moderately to very important in influencing their prescribing habits (Amer Journal of Med, 1982). One-third of medical residents reported that they change their practice based on information provided by drug reps (Journal of Gen Int Med, 1990). It is estimated that drug companies spend approximately 35% of sales revenues on marketing. This is about twice what they spend on R&D (Scrip Magazine, June 17, 1997). Spending for prescription drugs in the United States has more than doubled in the last decade, from 37.7 billion in 1990 to 78.9 billion in 1997. The proportion of the health care dollar spent on prescription drugs has increased faster than any other segment, including doctor and hospital bills (NY Times, Jan 11, 1999) A study by Tong, et al (Can Fam Phys, 1995), found that 60% of drug reps had used samples themselves or had given them to non-physicians. A study by Westfall, et al (JAMA, 1997), found that 96% of physicians and staff had taken samples for personal or family use in the preceding year.
|
