Before You Take that Pill: Why the Drug Industry May Be Bad for Your Health (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Those ominous words, spoken by David J. Graham, M.D., MPH, associate director of drug safety for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on November..." (more)
Key Phrases: life extension, mini mental status exam, vomiting tendon, Reasons Benign Serious, Allergic Allergy, Orthostatic Heart (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A medical expert reveals risks of the most commonly prescribed drugs-and why the drug industry doesn't want consumers to know about them.

Recent scandals involving diabetes drugs, Vioxx, and many other medications reveal the serious and undisclosed risks of some of the most commonly used prescription drugs in this country. In Before You Take That Pill, Dr. J. Douglas Bremner, a researcher and clinician at Emory University whose study on Accutane and depression made headlines, offers an inside look at the pharmaceutical industry, as well as a scientifically backed assessment of the risks of more than three hundred prescribed medications, vitamins, and supplements.

While many drugs are essential to the health of consumers, as Dr. Bremner explains, for many people, the benefits may not outweigh the potential side effects. This book contains warnings that are not on the drug labels. It also exposes tricks of the trade that demonstrate how the profit-making interests of "big pharma" may not always be in line with the safety of the public - from the corruption that exists in the drug approval process to the tactics drug companies use to encourage doctors to prescribe their products. Most important, Before You Take That Pill empowers readers by giving them sound information on specific medications so they can understand and weigh the potential risk themselves. Backed by the latest studies, as well as insight from a doctor who is in the trenches, this book should be on the shelf of every drug consumer.

About the Author

J. Douglas Bremner, M.D., is a researcher and physician at Emory University School of Medicine. Currently a professor of psychiatry and radiology, he is also the director of the Emory Clinical Neuroscience Research Unit and the director of Mental Health Research at the Atlanta VA Medical Center. His research on Accutane and depression was highly publicized and featured in USA Today. He lives in Atlanta, Georgia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Avery Trade; illustrated edition edition (February 28, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583332952
• ISBN-13: 978-1583332955
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #551,280 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wake Up America and the World!, March 10, 2008

By	nancy - See all my reviews

This book is a must read! Doug Bremner has researched and applied an unbiased, fact based approach to the many questions we as consumers have with the drug mania around us today. His writing technique is witty and spellbinding! I will think twice for myself, as well as for my family and friends, about accepting prescribed drugs BEFORE exploring possible harmful adverse effects and most importantly healthy alternative options!

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four out of five doctors recommend..., April 10, 2008

By	Steven Rhodes (Atlanta, GA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

But which doctors are these? Unfortunately, it turns out in many cases, these four doctors also happen to be on said product's payroll. Even when conflict of interest is not quite so clear cut, specific and serious problems exist in the way drugs reach the U.S. public. Doug Bremner provides a frightening indictment of a broken system.

Chapter one provides a quick overview of the scope of the problem, placing it in an historic perspective. It describes how we have arrived at the current drug approval methods and the troublesomely cozy relationship between corporations and regulators. It briefly discusses the impact of profit driven drug development, and aggressive marketing. Although first chapter has no end-notes (following chapters do), it does reference a number of books and of investigative journalism articles.

Wonderfully written in clear non-technical language and organized by diagnosed condition, the remaining invaluable chapters provide detailed examples of the results of this broken system. In his introduction, Dr. Bremner states that this book is not a reference. In that it is not an exhaustive listing of all current drugs and their side effects that is true. However: being so cleanly organized well indexed, and providing many specifically justified recommendations, Before You Take that Pill should be an important home reference for U.S. health care consumers.

A final critical note: it is both stated by the author and clear throughout that the book is not intended as anti-pharmaceutical. It is rather, to provide consumers with the information needed to make more fully informed decisions as to the risks and benefits of certain treatment options.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much Needed, March 6, 2008

By	Charles Whitfield - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is right on time, with all the toxic drugs that don't work well today.

Should be required reading for all medical, nursing & pharmacy students.

Highly recommeded !

Charles Whitfield MD, author, The Truth about Mental Illness