PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER: THE HIDDEN DANGERS IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET [Hardcover]

Thomas J. Moore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 5, 1998

This hard-hitting expose does for prescription drugs what Silent Spring did for pesticides, revealing the hidden dangers of the most commonly prescribed medications -- and what the consumer can do to minimize the risks of serious side effects.

Prescription medicines are so dangerous that they pose a 26 percent lifetime risk of serious injury to every American who uses them. But the monitoring of approved drugs is so poor that 99 percent of adverse effects are never reported. Meanwhile, doctors make so many prescribing errors that one out of five older Americans take drugs that are potentially harmful.

From flawed testing by drug companies to careless behavior by consumers, "Prescription for Disaster" documents the breakdown of a system that doesn't protect the public.

Whether it's Prozac, estrogen, or Ritalin; sedatives or allergy pills; medication for pain, high cholesterol, or blood pressure -- the drugs that we rely on are the focus of this well-documented and surprising book.

"Prescription for Disaster" also shows consumers how to discover the most serious risks of drugs they are taking and how to weigh the benefits of prescription medicines against those risks -- all the while dealing with our difficult and often confusing health-care system.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

We've all heard the stories of allergy drugs that caused toxic reactions when taken with other medications, painkillers that caused liver damage in people who also drink a lot of alcohol, or antidepressants that ruin some users' sex lives. In fact, "there is no such thing as a safe drug," asserts Thomas J. Moore, who researched drug safety as a senior fellow in health policy at George Washington University. Moore is something of a drug doomsayer, and many readers of this book will join him in his fears. He asserts that drug companies are not above manipulating information about their products--an especially egregious situation, since doctors get much of their information about drugs from the manufacturers themselves. For instance, he notes that a report by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concluded that the company that manufactures the sleep aid Halcion "vigorously sought to suppress the publication of unfavorable studies and attempted to silence Halcion critics." Moore appears to have done massive research, and he documents his stories of the development and approval of dozens of drugs with extensive footnotes. (It would be interesting to hear a response from the pharmaceutical companies and the FDA.) By focusing on dangers, side effects, and flawed clinical trials, Moore gives short shrift to the real benefits of many medications--but that's not the point here. Instead, he makes a strong case for drug users to be careful consumers and take note of their own individual reactions to medications, rather than leaving it up to their doctors or anyone else. --Ben Kallen

From Library Journal

Moore, a senior fellow in health policy at the George Washington University Medical Center, reports that prescription drugs contribute to 100,000 deaths each year. He also points out that over a lifetime of drug taking, the average American has a 26 percent chance of being hospitalized from a drug injury. Clearly, putting blind faith in prescription drugs can be dangerous, and Moore aims to tell consumers how they can minimize the risks of serious side effects in all therapeutic categories. Though he does provide references to the professional medical literature to substantiate his claims, in this reviewer's opinion he greatly accentuates the negative; obviously, drugs have been invaluable in curing disease and alleviating symptoms. Still, for its timely warning, this book is recommended for all consumer health collections.
-?Bruce Slutsky, New Jersey Inst. of Technology Lib., Newark
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684829983
• ISBN-13: 978-0684829982
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,451,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Save Your Own Life - Listen To Thomas J Moore, Author, January 2, 2005

By 

G. Reid (Roseland, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER: THE HIDDEN DANGERS IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET (Hardcover)

This is a great book about prescription medicines and the people who make billions of dollars pushing these drugs at the public. Thomas J. Moore is qualified to write on this issue. He has spent six years researching and writing about the safety of prescription drugs as a senior fellow in health policy at the George Washington University Medical Center.

This book was written in 1998. However, almost all of the information in the book is still relevent. Most of the problems identified in the book have not been resolved and some are even worse. For a similar book on this subject released in 2004, see my review on "Overdosed America: The Broken Promise Of American Medicine" by John Abramson.

You will learn about many amazing facts in "Prescription For Disaster." I will list some of them for you. Be sure to read the book to learn about all of the issues involved.

1. You are about ten times more likely to be hospitalized by a side affect of a prescription drug than by an automobile accident.
2. Many doctors do not tell patients about the adverse effects of the medicines that they prescribe.
3. Almost half of medicines prescribed caused cancer in animals, often at or near the human dose.
4. Learn about how one extra tablet of a medicine for hives killed the patient.
5. Of the top 50 prescribed drugs, 7 can cause addiction, 18 have cancer risks, 18 are unusually toxic and 25 have cardiac risks.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Anyone over 30 should read this book for self preservation., April 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Mount Prospect, Il.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: PRESCRIPTION FOR DISASTER: THE HIDDEN DANGERS IN YOUR MEDICINE CABINET (Hardcover)

Rx for Disaster documents the potential good as well as the side effects & harmful drug interactions of many of the newer legitimate designer pharmaceuticals. If you are interested in improving your understanding and taking control of the Rx medications prescribed for you, this book is a must. It is well written and factual by Thomas J. Moore, an experienced medical researcher. The book provides insight and understanding, as well as a road map for learning about the Rx medication that you are taking. You can better interact with your doctor and pharmacist after you have read this book.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A potentially lifesaving book, May 21, 2002

By 

Joel M. Kauffman (Berwyn, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Prescription for Disaster (Mass Market Paperback)

Utterly accurate, mild in tone, this book sets out in simple language (backed up by solid citations to peer-reviewed journals) how those of us with some intelligence can minimize the damage from prescription drugs.
From p179: "One wonders how the drug industry could be surprised that the consumer information plan focused 'on the hazards that drugs may present.' This was exactly the information being denied to consumers. Evidence that the real goal of the PhRMA and the AMA was to continue to keep consumers in the dark could be seen..."