More false / fraudulent science promoting pharmaceutical drugs

"Paroxetine is not effective in adolescents with major depression and actually causes harm"

This simple statement is taken from the doctors online magazine, Pulse, on 18th September 2015.

What the statement hides is that this constitutes yet another example of fraudulent activity by the pharmaceutical industry, and the harm it is prepared to do to its patients in order to sell drugs.

The trial was undertaken in 2001 and came to the conclusion that paraxetine was 'safe and effective' for adolescents, and on this basis doctors have been prescribing it for the last 14 years!

The study was funded by the Big Pharma company - GlaxoSmithKline.

Now, the study and its reported findings has been 're-analysed', and it has been found that neither Paroxetine, and another drug tested in the same study, Imipramine, were not as effective as placebo. The authors concluded that

     "Neither paroxetine nor high dose imipramine showed efficacy for major depression in adolescents, and there was an increase in harms with both drugs".

The result is that after prescribing the drug for over 14 years (on the basis of a so-called 'scientific' trial), doctors are now being advised by the drug regulator, the MHRA, against prescribing SSRIs to young people as "they may be linked to increased suicide-related events".

Indeed, the Pulse article says that the 'new analysis' suggested that doctors should be cautions with all SSRI drugs, and avoid paroxetine altogether!

And that, according to Pulse, and presumably the wider conventional medical establishment, is all there is to it! The re-analysis of the study was said to be "helpful to confirm the current advice".

• No mention of the 2001 study, and why it came to a false recommendation.
• No mention about what action would be taken against the drug company, and the so-called scientists who 'got it wrong'.
• No mention of how many people have been given this drug for the last 14 years on the basis of this 'scientific' recommendation.
• No mention of how many people have been harmed by the drug during this time.
• No mention of an apology by the conventional medical profession.
• As far as I can ascertain, no mention of this fraud in any of the mainstream media.

Paroxetine is sold under more well-known trade names, including Paxil and Seroxat, that have been marketed since 1992. The drug, quite regardless of the plethora of names under which it is marketed, has been known to be dangerous since that time. It is known to increase suicide risk, and to cause birth defects. Like other SSRI drugs it can cause dizziness, headaches, blurred vision, loss of appetite, nausea, diarrhoea, constipation, somnolence, insomnia, hypomania, nervousness, paraesthesia,  dizziness, weakness, tremor, sweating and sexual dysfunction. And no doubt much more that is not yet known, or admitted.

According to the Pulse article, this re-analysis is "the first piece of work to be published in the BMJas part of an initiative called RIAT – Restoring Invisible and Abandoned Trials". What this means is that there is now considerable concern about the 'science' that underlays so many of the pharmaceutical drug trials that have taken place over recent decades. More fraud, concerning more drugs and vaccines, are clearly suspected to have taken place. Drug companies have paid for the 'science', and at least some scientists appear to have been happy to produce the results that the drug companies have wanted.

• This is cheque-book science, not real science! 
• It is not the science that seeks truth, it is the science that seeks to sell pharmaceutical drugs. 
• It is not the science that protects patients. It is the science that puts patients at risk of dangerous drugs. 
• It is science that supports Big Pharma profits.

Paxil. More Big Pharma fraud?

This blog is based on a Health Sciences Institute newsletter, dated 30th October 2012.
Sign up for the HSI Newsletter here. It is well worth it.

Paxil (also known by the trade names Aropax, Pexeva, Seroxat and Sereupin) is a powerful antipsychotic drug that is approved to treat depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) in adults.

Some of the known side effects of Paxil are flatulence, vomiting, gingivitis, dizziness, insomnia, nervousness, confusion, sleep abnormalities, anxiety, depersonalization, depression, lack of emotion, hallucinations, hostility, hysteria, manic-depressive reaction, psychotic depression, and psychosis. Mania has been reported in up to 2 per cent of bipolar patients.

How do these people live with themselves?

If you look at that long list of disturbing side effects, and DIEs, then the mind boggles as to why anyone would even consider giving this drug to children. Then again, I suppose when we're talking about Big Pharma, anything goes, especially when money is involved. As you and I both know, as soon as a drug has the potential to rake in millions, patient safety is the last thing on Big Pharma's mind.

Big profits were no doubt the motivation behind GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) blatant bribery of doctors to prescribe Paxil to children. In fact, the drug giant went so far as to fly psychiatrists and their partners to five-star hotels on all-expenses-paid trips, where speakers (who were paid up to $2,500 to attend) gave presentations on the drug.

Doctors who attended these 'scientific meetings' were given $750, free board and lodging and access to activities including snorkelling, golf, deep-sea fishing, rafting, glass-bottomed boat rides, hot-air balloon rides and, on one trip, a tour of the Bacardi rum distillery... and those who agreed to write extra prescriptions enjoyed further kickbacks including trips to resorts in Bermuda, Jamaica and California.

That's despicable! But wait, there's more...

GSK even went so far as to publish an article in a medical journal that alluded to Paxil's safety for children, despite the journal asking several times for the misleading wording to be changed. Even though GSK knew that three trials had failed to prove the drugs' effectiveness in children, they still went ahead and published a report entitled "Positioning Paxil in the adolescent depression market – getting a head start"... Copies of the misleading article were given to sales representatives to pass on to doctors, in the hope that it would secure more business.

The more the merrier

An investigation found that GSK also paid $275,000 to Dr. Drew Pinsky, who hosted a popular radio show in the US, to promote another of their 'adults only' antidepressants, Wellbutrin, on his programme. GSK also claimed it could treat weight gain, sexual dysfunction, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and bulimia... and those are exactly the unapproved uses Dr. Pinsky promoted on his radio show.

As if that wasn't enough, GSK launched their bestselling asthma drug, Advair, to sales representatives in Las Vegas using images of slot machines, emphasising the bonuses they could make through sales. At the event, the then chief executive, Jean-Pierre Garnier, said: "What is the number one reason why you should love to be a GSK sales rep? Advair's bonus plan. Yeah!"

GSK pushed the drug as the ultimate answer for tackling asthma, saying it should be the drug of choice for treating all cases. However, it had been approved only for treating severe cases, as other drugs were more suitable for mild asthma. GSK published material calling mild asthma a "myth" in an attempt to boost sales.

What's even more shameful is the fact that after GSK admitted corporate misconduct over all three drugs, they walked away with nothing but a slap on the wrist in the form of a $3bn fine... which is nothing compared to the profits GSK made from Paxil ($11.6bn), and Wellbutrin ($5.9bn) in 2000-2001 — the years covered by the settlement.

I am truly at a loss for words... 

Some additional comments on Paxil and the behaviour of drug companies
The Big Pharma drug companies are very big corporations, whose main priority are their shareholders, and the making of profit. It would appear that the making of profit (and not only from this blog, but many others) is very much more important than patient safety, and that our health is very much a secondary consideration for these companies.

Okay. I can understand that (and understanding it means that I want nothing to do with their drugs and vaccines). But always more puzzling is the fact that the Government, the Department of Health, our National Health Service (NHS), and our doctors and GP's are quite willing to continue with their role - as distributors of Big Pharma drugs. Moreover, as distributors of Big Pharma drugs, they are quite willing that we are not made aware of the dangers of these drugs.

Even more alarming, in some ways, is that our Media is also not willing to tell us what is happening, and how our health is placed in danger by all Big Pharma drugs, not just Paxil / Seroxat. Okay, most of the mass media is owned and managed by the same vested financial interests as Big Pharma. Remember, James Murdoch not only ran News International, he was also on the board of GSK!

But even this does not explain the position of BBC News! They are funded by the licence fee we all pay - and still they do not see fit to warn us about the disease-inducing effects (DIEs) of Big Pharma drugs.

Clearly, the Government, the NHS, our doctors, the Media (even the BBC) are quite willing to hide this information from people.

I wonder? How many young children will be put on Paxil today? And how many of them, or indeed their parents, will recognise or understand the dangers that are involved in doing so?

There is serious legal culpability here. Consuming something when we know it is dangerous is one thing. But when people, who should be telling us about the dangers, are clearly refusing to do so. Surely that is a crime!

Violence and Pharma Drugs

When I first put forward the connection between violence and pharmaceutical drugs, I did so very tentatively. (See the Failure of Conventional Medicine, the Creation of Illness. However, the evidence is growing, and a number of well-known, and heavily consumed Big Pharma drugs, like Chantix, Prozac, Seroxat and Lariam are now implicated in causing violent behaviour.

The ten worst drugs are outlined in this article, from the Dr Mercola website.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/02/02/top-ten-legal-drugs-linked-to-violence.aspx

Chantix appears to be the worst, and is linked to the highest number of reports of violence, aggression, and psychosis (http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/764/9/).