Tuesday, April 11, 2006

This is what I like to see:

"Drug firms 'hype up diseases to boost sales'".

Sometimes it takes a while for the media to hop on the Real News wagon since celebrities demand so much attention but they get around to it, bless their little hearts.

The gist:

Drug companies are inventing diseases to sell more of their products, it has been claimed. Scientists have accused major pharmaceutical firms of "medicalising" problems like high cholesterol or the symptoms of the menopause in a bid to increase profits.
Experts from around the world will meet in Australia today to discuss what they have labelled "disease-mongering".

The group, which includes experts from Britain, will gather in Newcastle, New South Wales, where researchers have been examining the issue. David Henry and Ray Moynihan, of Newcastle University, claim the industry is exaggerating conditions and turning them into something more serious.

Female sexual dysfunction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and "restless legs" syndrome have all been promoted by the pharmaceutical industry in the hope of selling more drugs, they say....

Even shyness is routinely presented as a "social anxiety disorder" resulting in the person being prescribed anti-depressants.