AUGUST 31, 2004. The elite British Royal College of General Practitioners has come out in the open and stated that drug companies invent or shape disease categories that, by definition, require drug treatment.

In other words, the true masters are the drug companies.

My comments on The UK Telegraph piece below are in caps and brackets.

Drug Firms Accused Of 'Disease Mongering'
By Michael Day
Health Correspondent
The Telegraph - UK
8-28-4

The Royal College of General Practitioners has accused drug
companies of "disease-mongering" in order to boost sales. [OF
COURSE THIS CHARGE IS SELF-SERVING, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THE DOCTORS
PRESCRIBE THE DRUGS. NEVERTHELESS, THE CHARGE IS ACCURATE.]

The college, whose members include many of Britain's 37,000 GPs,
says the pharmaceutical industry is taking the National Health
Service to the brink of collapse by encouraging unnecessary
prescribing of costly drugs. [LIKE DOCTORS, THE HEALTH SERVICE CAN
REJECT MANY DRUGS AS UNNECESSARY.]

In evidence to a parliamentary inquiry, the college accuses the
companies of over-playing the dangers of conditions such as mild
depression or slightly raised blood pressure. [IN OTHER WORDS,
DEFINE DISEASE CONDITIONS SO ALMOST ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN SUDDENLY
REQUIRES DRUGS.] 

Dr Maureen Baker, the college's honorary secretary, wants the 
Commons health inquiry to investigate the companies' practices. "It 
would be fruitful to look into the increase in disease-mongering by 
them," she told The Sunday Telegraph. "It is very much in the 
interest of the pharmaceutical industry to draw a line that 
includes as large a population as possible within the 'ill' 
category. The bigger this group is, the more drugs they can sell. 
If current trends continue, publicly funded health-care systems 
will be at risk of financial collapse with huge cost to society as 
a whole." 

The college lists hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, 
anxiety and depression as examples of common conditions that, in 
mild forms, are often inappropriately treated with drugs. 

Richard Ley, a spokesman for the Association of the British 
Pharmaceutical Industry, said: "It seems odd for this criticism to 
come from the Royal College of all organisations, because a 
decision on when and how to treat a patient is the doctor's." [EACH 
SIDE PASSES THE BUCK TO THE OTHER. THE DRUG INDUSTRY SAYS, “WE CAN 
LIE ALL WE WANT TO ABOUT WHAT DRUGS ARE NEEDED, BUT IT’S THE 
DOCTORS’ JOB TO SEE THROUGH OUR LIES.”] 

Dr Baker, however, questioned the impartiality of treatment 
guidelines from bodies of specialist doctors that tell GPs when and 
what to prescribe, saying they were often overly influenced by and 
financially reliant on drug companies. [“FINANCIALLY RELIANT” IS AN 
INTERESTING PHRASE. CARE TO SPELL THAT OUT IN GREAT DETAIL? YOU 
MEAN THESE “BODIES” OF SPECIALISTS ARE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES?] 

Earlier this month, it emerged that three senior members of the 
Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which recommended 
the introduction of the new five-in-one jab for diphtheria, 
tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib had received "industrial 
support" from two pharmaceutical firms, Aventis Pasteur and Merck 
Sharp & Dome, which are supplying the vaccination. [YOU MEAN THESE 
MEMBERS WERE ON THE TAKE. BEHOLDEN. PAID OFF. IT WAS BASICALLY QUID 
PRO QUO.] 

Some observers are also worried about "hard-sell" methods applied 
to general practice. Last year, a survey of 1,000 GPs published in 
the British Medical Journal found that those who saw drugs-company 
representatives at least once a week were more likely to prescribe 
drugs that were not needed. [THERE ARE TWO IMPLICATIONS HERE. ONE, 
THE DOCTORS WHO OFTEN SEE DRUG-COMPANY REPS ARE TOO STUPID TO 
RESIST SALES PITCHES AND THEY INTERPRET THESE PITCHES AS “SCIENCE.” 
TWO, MONEY INDUCEMENTS ARE MADE TO THE DOCTORS. LET’S SPELL THESE 
OUT AND GET IT ALL IN THE OPEN. PAID VACATIONS, PAID JUNKETS TO 
BEAUTIFUL LOCALES FOR MED CONFERENCES. KICKBACKS ON DRUG SCRIPTS 
WRITTEN. KICKBACKS ON FREE DRUG SAMPLES SUPPLIED BY THE 
PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND HANDED OUT TO PATIENTS BY DOCTORS.] 

Drug Firms Accused Of 'Disease Mongering' By Michael Day

Health Correspondent The Telegraph - UK 8-28-4 The Royal College of General Practitioners has accused drug companies of "disease-mongering" in order to boost sales. [OF COURSE THIS CHARGE IS SELF-SERVING, BECAUSE ULTIMATELY THE DOCTORS PRESCRIBE THE DRUGS. NEVERTHELESS, THE CHARGE IS ACCURATE.] The college, whose members include many of Britain's 37,000 GPs, says the pharmaceutical industry is taking the National Health Service to the brink of collapse by encouraging unnecessary prescribing of costly drugs. [LIKE DOCTORS, THE HEALTH SERVICE CAN REJECT MANY DRUGS AS UNNECESSARY.] In evidence to a parliamentary inquiry, the college accuses the companies of over-playing the dangers of conditions such as mild depression or slightly raised blood pressure. [IN OTHER WORDS, DEFINE DISEASE CONDITIONS SO ALMOST ANYTHING UNDER THE SUN SUDDENLY REQUIRES DRUGS.] Dr Maureen Baker, the college's honorary secretary, wants the Commons health inquiry to investigate the companies' practices. "It would be fruitful to look into the increase in disease-mongering by them," she told The Sunday Telegraph. "It is very much in the interest of the pharmaceutical industry to draw a line that includes as large a population as possible within the 'ill' category. The bigger this group is, the more drugs they can sell. If current trends continue, publicly funded health-care systems will be at risk of financial collapse with huge cost to society as a whole." The college lists hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, anxiety and depression as examples of common conditions that, in mild forms, are often inappropriately treated with drugs. Richard Ley, a spokesman for the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, said: "It seems odd for this criticism to come from the Royal College of all organisations, because a decision on when and how to treat a patient is the doctor's." [EACH SIDE PASSES THE BUCK TO THE OTHER. THE DRUG INDUSTRY SAYS, “WE CAN LIE ALL WE WANT TO ABOUT WHAT DRUGS ARE NEEDED, BUT IT’S THE DOCTORS’ JOB TO SEE THROUGH OUR LIES.”] Dr Baker, however, questioned the impartiality of treatment guidelines from bodies of specialist doctors that tell GPs when and what to prescribe, saying they were often overly influenced by and financially reliant on drug companies. [“FINANCIALLY RELIANT” IS AN INTERESTING PHRASE. CARE TO SPELL THAT OUT IN GREAT DETAIL? YOU MEAN THESE “BODIES” OF SPECIALISTS ARE GOVERNMENT AGENCIES?] Earlier this month, it emerged that three senior members of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, which recommended the introduction of the new five-in-one jab for diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib had received "industrial support" from two pharmaceutical firms, Aventis Pasteur and Merck Sharp & Dome, which are supplying the vaccination. [YOU MEAN THESE MEMBERS WERE ON THE TAKE. BEHOLDEN. PAID OFF. IT WAS BASICALLY QUID PRO QUO.] Some observers are also worried about "hard-sell" methods applied to general practice. Last year, a survey of 1,000 GPs published in the British Medical Journal found that those who saw drugs-company representatives at least once a week were more likely to prescribe drugs that were not needed. [THERE ARE TWO IMPLICATIONS HERE. ONE, THE DOCTORS WHO OFTEN SEE DRUG-COMPANY REPS ARE TOO STUPID TO RESIST SALES PITCHES AND THEY INTERPRET THESE PITCHES AS “SCIENCE.” TWO, MONEY INDUCEMENTS ARE MADE TO THE DOCTORS. LET’S SPELL THESE OUT AND GET IT ALL IN THE OPEN. PAID VACATIONS, PAID JUNKETS TO BEAUTIFUL LOCALES FOR MED CONFERENCES. KICKBACKS ON DRUG SCRIPTS WRITTEN. KICKBACKS ON FREE DRUG SAMPLES SUPPLIED BY THE PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES AND HANDED OUT TO PATIENTS BY DOCTORS.]

End of Telegraph article

The corruption happens on both ends of the deal. Drug companies and doctors. We’re essentially talking about invention of disease conditions. The British National Health Service funds free medical treatment for all. They’re afraid they’ll go broke if doctors keep prescribing all these drugs to the populace. Of course, no word on the TOXICITY of the drugs. Look for a compromise to be reached: British doctors will continue their over-the-top prescribing practices. The drug companies will sell those drugs to the government for less. In fact, that’s what this whole Royal College accusation is really all about: pressure on the drug companies to lower their prices.

JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.com