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“Selling Sickness 2013” Conference In February Will Focus On Various Aspects Of Pharmaceutical Industry

Academic Medical Reformers, Consumer Activists, Health Journalists, And Others Will Gather In Washington, DC To Discuss Big Pharma Conduct and Practices

(Posted by at DrugInjuryWatch.com)

I want to let you know about an event we will covering next month that should be of great interest to many of you: Selling Sickness 2013 – People Before Profits.

This conference about the pharmaceutical drug industry, with a focus on several different facets of its conduct and practices, will be held in Washington, DC, during February 21-22, 2013.  Its origins and purpose are described on the SellingSickness.com website as follows:

First, there was the 2006 Inaugural Congress on Disease Mongering in Australia which marked a watershed in networking among health care reformers and drug industry critics.  Then, the 2010 Selling Sickness conference in Amsterdam expanded the network and updated the work. Now, Selling Sickness 2013: People before Profits is coming to Washington, DC in February, 2013 to continue the challenge and the international networking.

This conference will bring together academic medical reformers, consumer activists, and health journalists to examine the current scope of disease mongering and to develop strategies and coalitions for change. Topics will include misleading marketing, journalistic standards, over-treatment, over-diagnosis, whistleblowers, new roles for advocates, pharmacovigilance, clinical trials, activist narratives, new conflict of interest areas, evidence-based screening, igniting citizen outrage, and more.

For those interested learning more about this Selling Sickness 2013 event:

I am scheduled to attend this conference next month and, afterward, there will be a report posted here about what transpired during these two days in DC. 

Lastly, if you are going to be at this Selling Sickness 2013 conference and would like to meet in person, please feel free to send me an email in advance of the event so that I can look for you there. ______________________________________________________________________________

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One response to ““Selling Sickness 2013” Conference In February Will Focus On Various Aspects Of Pharmaceutical Industry”

  1. Dianne Avatar
    Dianne

    Dear Mr. Lamb,
    I am happy to hear you will be attending this conference. If you have the opportunity, please mention Michigan’s drug industry immunity law passed under the Engler administration in 1995. The law is a tort-reform policy referred to as FDA preemption or FDA Defense.
    This draconian law took away the right of Michigan Rx victims to hold drug companies accountable when their FDA-approved products harm or kill. All attempts to repeal it have been stonewalled by Michigan’s Republican senate.
    “What Michigan lawmakers accomplished with this law is exactly what the pharmaceutical industry has been trying to accomplish unsuccessfully for the last three decades in Congress and state legislatures around the country – eliminating their liability for marketing unsafe drugs, and shielding them from responsibility when their harmful products hurt or kill.
    With the problematic nature of the FDA, it is clear that Michigan needs the protection of its civil justice system. This law undermines public safety, is devastating to many people in Michigan and needs to be repealed.”
    – Amanda Melpolder, A Tragic Blunder, Michigan’s Drug Industry Immunity Law, Feb. 28, 2008.
    While Rx victims in other states have been compensated for their injuries, untold thousands of Michigan Rx victims, or their survivors, have been left without any ability, in our state courts, or in any courts in the country, to seek compensation for their injuries, medical expenses and lost wages resulting from injuries caused by dangerous drugs, including those taken off the market.
    Unfortunately, the media has said very little about Michigan’s drug industry immunity law; and, therefore, the people of our state are not well informed. Rx victims find out they lost their civil right to a day in court when they need a lawyer.
    John Engler saw his law as a model for America:
    Metro Times – News+Views: Bitter pill
    Jun 22, 2005 … Engler, in his present role as president of the National Association of Manufacturers, has been touting Michigan’s drug immunity law nationwide, saying it should be the law of the land. He says states allowing legal action against drug companies promote frivolous lawsuits at the expense of business growth.
    http://www.metrotimes.com
    Engler’s dream is Michigan’s nightmare…and, sadly, tort-reform, FDA preemption, FDA Defense laws are creeping across America.
    Michigan’s drug industry immunity law is very sick and would be a good topic at the”Selling Sickness” conference.
    Thank you for all you do.
    Very best,
    Dianne
    Related:
    Study: A Tragic Blunder: Michigan’s Drug Industry Immunity Law | centerjd.org
    HOT COFFEE, a documentary feature film

    Reply

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