Money Talks: The Movie

A sequel to the wonderful Pharma expose' SIDE EFFECTS.



SYNOPSIS
"If we want it to be different, we have to insist on it."
Jerome Hoffman MD, UCLA Medical School

This 50-minute documentary was created to give an in-depth, academic perspective on the questionable marketing tactics of the pharmaceutical industry, and features the commentary of investigative journalists and medical professionals including Dr. John Abramson, author of Overdosed America, and Prescription Access Litigation Project Director, Alex Sugerman-Brozan. Other notable interviewees include Dr. Bob Goodman of Columbia University, founder of the ‘No Free Lunch’ program, and Dr. Jerome Hoffman of UCLA Medical School.

Engaging and informative, the film offers a reasoned approach to the subject matter and is a terrific way to stimulate discussion about the ethical implications of pharmaceutical promotion. Filmmaker Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau has received both national and international press coverage, including The Atlantic Monthly, British Medical Journal, CNN, The New York Times, Psychology Today, USA Today and The Economist.

Notable Comments

"Money Talks presents a wealth of unsettling information and forward-looking ideas about one of the most urgent issues facing our country today. This film should be required viewing for anyone concerned about the complexities and failings of the American health care system." -Meghann Matwichuk, University of Delaware, Media Librarian/Video Round Table Notable Videos for Adults Committee Member

"Money Talks filled the gaps... things are far worse than I suspected" -Evelyn Hampton, UTNE

"Money Talks exposes shady drug industry practices... it is
important for anyone who wants to understand how
corporations are controlling their health."
-Heather Gehlert, AlterNet

"I recommend the documentary film Money Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety" -Christine Northrup M.D.

"A chilling documentary" -Marilynn Larkin, The Lancet

“Viewers of Slattery-Moschkau’s work will be forever changed in their perception of the pharmaceutical industry." -Bradley Lewis, M.D. Ph.D., NYU

“This documentary should be required viewing in all health care educational programs.” -David A. Apgar, R.Ph.

“The facts uncovered in this film shocked even me--and I've been a 'prevention-first' doc all along.”
-Malynn Utzinger, MD

"I can’t imagine a more compelling way to drive home the idea that we all need to be proactive about the medications we are taking and giving to our children... simply riveting.” -Dr. Dominick Riccio, chairman of the Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs Campaign


Why we made Money Talks: Profits Before Patient Safety

Money Talks was created to address the outstanding audience questions raised by Side Effects, Kathleen Slattery-Moschkau’s first film about issues involving the pharmaceutical industry.

The production team turned the camera on the experts with the goal of creating informative bonus material for the Side Effects DVD. Once the filmmakers reviewed the compelling interview footage, they realized that the material deserved its own project. The result is this engaging and straight shooting documentary that holds a mirror up to the pharmaceutical industry’s marketing tactics, exposing how their pervasive influence ultimately compromises healthcare. It is our hope that Money Talks will help people make educated choices about their own health and about the future of medicine in the U.S.


Link

AstraZeneca: "Lisa has done a great smoke-and-mirrors job"

AstraZeneca “buried” unfavorable studies of its $4.4 billion blockbuster psychiatric drug Seroquel, according to internal documents released Friday in a legal dispute between the company and lawyers for thousands of people who sued the company because they said the drug caused diabetes and weight gain.
In one of the documents, a 1997 e-mail message, Richard Lawrence, an AstraZeneca official, praised Lisa Arventis, the company’s Seroquel project physician at the time, for minimizing adverse findings in a “cursed” study. He wrote: “Lisa has done a great ‘smoke-and-mirrors job!’ ”
Lawyers suing AstraZeneca, a British drug maker whose United States headquarters are in Delaware, said the documents show it tried to hide the diabetes link for nearly a decade.
“AstraZeneca knew about the risk of weight gain and diabetes in 2000 and not only failed to warn physicians and patients but marketed in a way that represented there was no risk,” Edward F. Blizzard, a Houston-based lead lawyer on the cases, said in a conference call with reporters.

Read more about the Seroquel scandal at the New York Times. For the best investigative journalism anywhere on this, go see what Philip Dawdy has to say at Furious Seasons.

ADHD drugs make children hallucinate

Image from this article
Article here.

"House" shilling for NAMI

This is so wrong on so many levels....
~ NAMI is confusing reality with television. "House" is not a doctor, he just plays one on TV.
~ "House" is strongly individualistic; NAMI members are generally conformists.
~ If real NAMI members met a doctor as curmudgeonly as "House" - and a drug addict to boot - they would certainly not become allies.
Beyond boycotting the HOUSE tv actor, ignoring this silly campaign, or remembering "everybody lies", there is another possible response...

Get it here.



MINDFREEDOM's old files, NAMI WATCH, are archived here.

Need, not Greed: Canadian Federation of Nurses Calls for Pharmacare

From the Canadian Federation of Nurses' Statement:

Drugs now rank second after hospitals in terms of share of total health care spending,
having overtaken spending on physicians in 1997. The share of total spending going to
drugs rose from 9.5 percent in 1985 to 16.2 percent in 2002. Spending on drugs is expected
to hit 16.7 percent of total health care spending in 2004, while spending on physicians will
be just 12.9 percent.3

The rapid rise in drug costs is primarily due to the ongoing substitution of newer, more
expensive drugs in place of existing, less expensive products. The newer drugs, in the
majority of cases, have no added benefit. Of the 117 drugs with new ingredients introduced
in Canada between 1998 and 2002, only 15 provided a substantial improvement over
existing drugs.4 The rest are “me-too” drugs that offer little or no therapeutic advances over
existing therapies but are responsible for 80 percent of the increased expenditure on drugs.5

Aggressive advertising by drug companies drives consumption of these me-too drugs.6
Apart from advertising directly to consumers, drug companies spend approximately
$30,000 per year for every doctor in Canada on drug samples, sales rep contact,
conferences, trips and giveaways.7 The influence of pharmaceutical companies on research,
education and clinical practice has also been widely documented.8 Both patients and
doctors are influenced by the onslaught,9 with the result that drug costs are skyrocketing
but health outcomes are not necessarily improving.

Pdf here

Bipolar Disorder Caused by Antidepressants

In an essay appearing March 17 in The Lancet, Franco Benazzi, MD, PhD, writes about a common but poorly recognized form of bipolar disorder, called bipolar disorder II.
Because the disorder is so often misdiagnosed, patients are often wrongly treated with antidepressants alone, which can make the problem worse, the professor of psychiatry tells WebMD.

"These patients need to be on mood-stabilizing drugs, and if depression persists an antidepressant can be added," Benazzi says. "Treating these patients with antidepressants alone can actually increase the manic episodes and worsen the disorder."

Bipolar II caused by antidepressants

And more evidence from Am J Psychiatry 166:2, February 2009.
Pdf
Thanks to Philip Dawdy of Furious Seasons for releasing this information.

GABA for gentle attitude adjustment and more

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a natural calming agent. It is one of the brain’s most important regulators of proper function and neurotransmission. It appears that many people with anxiety, insomnia, epilepsy, and other brain disorders do not manufacture sufficient levels of GABA. While many drugs work by increasing the effects of GABA in the brain, they may have side effects, addictive properties, or may not be suitable for long-term use, whereas natural GABA is both safe and effective–without any known side effects.

Calm and Focused

Studies with synthetic GABA have shown that it does not cross the blood-brain barrier very well, leading to the assumption that GABA found in the brain was manufactured there and that supplemental GABA would not increase levels of GABA in the brain. That appears to be the case with synthetic GABA, but not with GABA naturally manufactured from Lactobacillus hilgardii.

Research has shown that GABA increases the production of alpha brain waves (a state often achieved by meditation, characterized by being relaxed with greater mental focus and mental alertness) and reduces beta waves (associated with nervousness, scattered thoughts, and hyperactivity).

In Japan GABA is a popular ingredient in functional foods, beverages, and dietary supplements designed to produce mental and physical relaxation without drowsiness. The most popular applications of GABA are found in chocolate and coffee beverages. It is particularly helpful in counteracting the effects of caffeine.

GABA is fast acting. Generally, the effects are felt within 15 minutes and can last from four to six hours.

Link

Read about Margot Kidder's return to wellness with GABA
here and here.

We ask, why take lithium and benzodiazepines if what the brain needs is GABA?