hungry, Music, College Term Papers.com


		Data Bases
		• Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism?

		Links
		• Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com

		Free Essays
		• Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers

Search Lots of Essays

Back to Subjects - Music

hungry

hungry 000100000t know was that a diet craze — a popular diet drug called fen-phen — wouldn’t lead her to a slimmer waist, instead it would lead her to die in the arms of her fiancé, months before her wedding day Consumers beware! Dispensing With the Truth is an inside look at the drug companies’ main motivation…money. Fen Phen was approved in 1996 despite noted concerns about safety. American Home Products made the “fen” in fen-phen, a drug called fenfluramine. It sold the drug under the brand name Pondimin along with a chemical cousin called Redux (Doctor’s Guide, 1998). The drug companies worked against the FDA, the one agency in place to regulate the safety of their products. These pills were targeted to specific a consumer. The drug companies counted on “pink collar” women, who were not truly obese, or old, just wanting to lose 20 or so odd pounds. The companies carefully orchestrated a diet drug fad that made them hundreds of millions of dollars. When reports started flooding in about serious side effects of the drugs these companies consistently downplayed the warnings. Instead the companies chose to fight the recommendations of the FDA to include “black box” warnings, which would put clear labeling alerting consumers and doctors to possible risks. They also hired experts and conducted studies to try to prove their product safe. Ultimately American Home Products pulled Pondimin and Redux off the market in 1997 after a Mayo Clinic study linked fenfluramine to potentially fatal heart valve damage and pulmonary hypertension (Doctor’s Guide, 1998). American Home Products began a nearly $100 million public relations spin in order to ward off paying damages and risking punishment by the government. During the summer of 2000, American Home Products agreed to settle the major class action lawsuit pending against the company for approximately $12 billion. Individuals harmed by fen-phen will receive between $5,000 and $1.5 million each, depending on the severity of their fen-phen related injuries. The company expects thousands of claimants to come forward over the next several months (Injuryboard, 2001). The information in this book was well documented. Mundy relied on documents from the FDA, Wyeth-Ayerst, American Home Family, Servier and Interneuron. Other information was gained at the depositions of the drug company officials and during trial testimony. Close contact with the victims, their families, and the lawyers who waged the war against the Goliath drug companies added a human element to the book. She also drew from news stories in The Wall Street Journal and reports in Newsday. The American Journal of Medicine, The New England Journal of Medicine, and Obesity Research were also listed as sources (Mundy, 2001). Concern was raised after fen-phen users started to become ill. That fact that this tragedy has unfolded over the last five years is proof to the accuracy and relevance contained in this book. Personally this book has opened my eyes to the deception that is out there. I’ve learned that I need to be skeptical of products released onto the market. Claims that sound too good to be true probably are, and I should be wary of risking my health. Personal research into claims given by a product could be done easily over the Internet or by asking for a second or third opinion from a physician. Brown, Janelle. May 16, 2001. The Poison Pill. http://www.elslaw.com/redux_articles_5-16-01.htm Doctor’s Guide. Dec. 1, 1998. Phen-Fen May Pose Threat For Heart Valve Disease. Doctor's Guide Publishing. Oct. 22, 2001. Bibliography:

Word Count: 586