Bitter Pills
Inside the Hazardous World of Legal Drugs
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
We take our medicines on faith. We assume our doctors are well-informed, our drug companies scrupulous, our FDA diligent—and our medications safe. All too often we're wrong. Just how wrong is documented in this critically acclaimed portrait of the international pharmaceutical industry by one of our most highly respected investigative journalists.
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), adverse drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death in America. Reactions to prescription and over-the-counter medications kill far more people annually than all illegal drug use combined.
Stephen Fried's wife took a pill for a minor infection—and ended up in the emergency room. Some drug reactions go away in a few hours or days. Diane's did not. This emotionally wrenching experience launched Fried into a five-year examination of the entire pharmaceutical industry, the most profitable legal business in the world. Rigorously documented, Bitter Pills is a full-scale portrait of pill making and pill taking in America today, presented through the powerful human drama of doctors, patients, drug companies, the FDA, and government regulators as they war for control of our medicine cabinets.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Five years ago, Fried's wife, after taking an antibiotic for a minor urinary tract infection, developed such side effects as delirium, visual distortions and insomnia, followed by a debilitating manic-depressive illness that the prescription drug apparently triggered. This report on the often lethal hazards of over-the-counter and prescription medications intertwines Fried's personal story of coping with his wife's condition and an informal, scattershot probe into the drug development and approval process, based on interviews with doctors, FDA officials, consumer advocates, neuroscientists, pharmaceutical executives and sales reps, lawyers and pharmacologists. By turns tedious and revealing, his labyrinthine investigation is sprinkled with useful suggestions for revamping U.S. drug testing and regulatory procedures. Freelance writer Fried includes cases involving adverse reactions to heart medicines, anti-inflammatory and psychiatric drugs, skin creams, anti-asthmatics and AIDS medications. He highlights the laxity of safety standards regarding the prescribing of drugs for children and pregnant women. An appendix offers guidelines for consumers on assessing potential drug dangers, and dealing with doctors and pharmacists.
