Physicians Received 760 Million From Pharmaceuticals in Past Two Years

The Intercept, Oct. 24, 2011

A dozen pharmaceutical companies have given doctors and other healthcare providers more than $760 million over the past two years - and those companies' sales comprise 40 percent of the U.S. market.

The numbers come from the non-profit journalism organization Pro Publica, which assembled and continues to update a database on the payments. The payments, says Pro Publica, are for consulting, speaking, research and expenses on the part of the providers.

Drug companies have traditionally been very tight-lipped about those payments, Pro Publica notes, but, "Over the past two years, companies have begun posting this information on their websites, some as the result of legal settlements with the federal government."

With bucks that big flying around, is the quality of care offered by providers accepting them compromised? "Absolutely," said Dr. John Santa, head of the Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center.

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CDC: Antidepressant use skyrockets 400% in past 20 years

USA Today, Oct. 21, 2011

Use of antidepressant drugs has soared nearly 400% since 1988, making the medication the most frequently used by people ages 18-44, a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

Eleven percent of Americans ages 12 years and older took antidepressants during the 2005-08 study period, the authors write. They add that though the majority of antidepressants were taken to treat depression, the drugs also can be used for anxiety disorders and other conditions.

"Unfortunately, some families are looking for a quick fix, but a pill is never going to get to the root of the problem," says David Palmiter, a psychologist and author of Working Parents, Thriving Families: 10 Strategies That Make a Difference.

Ducharme agrees. "That is the thing that bothers me the most," she says. "These drugs can be dangerous, and there needs to be follow-up care."

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More than 1 in 10 Americans on Suicide-Linked Antidepressants

Activist Post, Oct. 20, 2011

Despite evidence linking popular antidepressants like Prozac to suicide more than 1 in 10 Americans over the age of 12 are now taking antidepressants prescribed by their doctors. In fact, antidepressants are now the most common drug among people aged 18 to 44, according to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.

Even more notable is the fact that once prescribed, individuals generally keep taking antidepressants for years. Over 60 percent of patients prescribed antidepressants report taking them for more than 2 years, and 14 percent for 10 years or more. This is unfortunate when the drugs meant to help depression actually cause further depression.

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Roundup and birth defects researcher presents findings to German government

EU Reporter, Oct. 3, 2011

On 28 September 2011, the scientist at the centre of the global row over glyphosate/Roundup herbicide and birth defects met with representatives of the German government to present his scientific findings that Roundup herbicide and the chemical on which it is based, glyphosate, cause birth defects in laboratory animals.

Prof Andres Carrasco, MD, is head of the Molecular Embryology Laboratory at University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and chief scientist at the National Council for Science and Technology (CONICET), Argentina. Carrasco’s findings gave scientific credibility to reports of people in Argentina who claimed escalating rates of birth defects and cancers after the introduction of genetically modified soy, which is engineered to tolerate being sprayed with huge amounts of glyphosate.

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The Deathly Icing on the Cake: Revealing the Cancerous Truth About Aspartame

Natural Society, Oct. 17, 2011

Aspartame, the artificial sweetener found in many diet sodas and used as an ‘alternative’ sweetener, has been found recently to possess detrimental cancerous effects.

Though it may seem as news to some readers, aspartame has been a known carcinogen for quite some time.

Aspartame researcher Dr. Soffritti did a similar pair of studies to Innes-Brown’s. The first study found that consumption of the equivalent of 4 to 5 bottles of diet soda per day yielded high rates of cancerous growths among many of his subjects; the highest dose producing 25 percent of females with cancerous cell growth, compared to 8.7 percent of the control group females. With this study, Soffritti concluded that aspartame at a ratio as low as 400 parts per million (ppm) was considered carcinogenic.

Initially these findings caused quite some controversy and sparked mass denial and nay saying worldwide. Now, after over 900 published studies on the health hazards of the sweetener are released, the nay saying has been curbed substantially.

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Governor Brown Takes Away Parents Rights in New California Vaccine Law | Health Impact News

The Progressive Mind, Oct. 12, 2011

The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) today criticized California Governor Jerry Brown for bowing to pressure from the pharmaceutical and medical trade lobby and signing a controversial bill (AB499) into law that allows 12 year old children to be vaccinated without the knowledge or consent of their parents. The new California law allows minor children as young as 12 years old to be given Gardasil and hepatitis B vaccine, as well as future vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases, without the informed consent of their parents.

“Under federal law, parents are supposed to get vaccine information before their children are vaccinated to help minimize risks and this new California law raises, rather than reduces, vaccine risks for children.”

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Children to be banned from blowing up balloons, under EU safety rules

The Telegraph, Oct. 12, 2011

The EU toy safety directive, agreed and implemented by Government, states that balloons must not be blown up by unsupervised children under the age of eight, in case they accidentally swallow them and choke.

Apparently harmless toys that children have enjoyed for decades are now regarded by EU regulators as posing an unacceptable safety risk.

Official guidance notes: "For latex balloons there must be a warning that children under eight years must be supervised and broken balloons should be discarded." Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent, warned that toy safety bans were part of a trend to micro-manage children's lives at the expense of allowing them to explore, learn and have fun through play.

Another EU official admitted that the new regulations could be difficult to understand but insisted that safety experts knew best. "You might say that small children have been blowing up balloons for generations, but not anymore and they will be safer for it," said an official.

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VRM: Gardasil/Cervarix – A Legacy Of Shame

VaccineResistanceMovement.org, Aug. 10, 2011

According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), Cervical Cancer is “the 2nd leading cause of cancer deaths among women around the world. In the United States, about 10,000 women get cervical cancer every year and about 4,000 are expected to die from it.”. What the CDC doesn’t tell you is the fact that “70 percent of all HPV infections resolve themselves without treatment within a year. Within two years, the number climbs to 90 percent. Of the remaining 10 percent of HPV infections, only half will develop into cervical cancer, which leaves little need for the vaccine” – the viewpoint of Dr. Diane Harper, lead researcher in the development of two human papilloma virus vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, and one seemingly in direct contradiction to the scientific literature being ‘foisted’ on the public by Vaccine Manufacturers Merck (Gardasil) & GlaxoSmithKline (Cervarix); vigorously backed by Government directed Health Departments around the world.

In fact, Merck clearly admits, on its official package insert, to the limited effectiveness of its product - ‘GARDASIL has not been demonstrated to protect against diseases due to HPV types not contained in the vaccine. Not all vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers are caused by HPV, and GARDASIL protects only against those vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers caused by HPV (Human Papillomavirus).’

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Cell phone: A blessing or a curse? (Part 1)

Arab News, Sept. 28, 2011

According to experts, being frequently in the way of radio wave radiation can disrupt the electrical field of the human body and brain cells or neurons. The brain suffers the most hits and damage. Due to such exposure, the electrical fields of human cells get negatively influenced, resulting in symptoms and diseases without showing immediate apparent harm. Such interference affects cell growth, resulting in DNA damage. Casual symptoms start appearing as disturbed sleep, anxiety, irritability and then depressive disorders. Confusion, inability to concentrate and memory decline are other mental disorders. Suppressed immunity lead to child and adult leukemia and cancers (eye, malignant brain tumors), which take years to surface. Physical dysfunctions like infertility begin to show.
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Unfortunately, most research on wireless radiofrequency radiation and safety issues is financed by the wireless industry, which can be inaccurate and lopsided.
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Radiation and microwave detectors can be used for measuring the amount of “harmful radiation” at home and workplace. Dr. Ben Kim suggests “Silver mesh curtains and copper flat paint can block significant amounts of radio frequency radiation.”

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Cancer Feeds on Fructose, America’s Number One Source of Calories

Activist Post, Sept. 30, 2011

High-fructose corn syrup is the primary source of calories in the United States. In addition to containing mercury, a known carcinogen, cancer cells actually feed on high-fructose corn syrup after it is metabolized by the liver. A new study, published in the Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Targets, examined the link between refined sugar and cancer. The results add further evidence to the reports of many health experts and scientific studies that have drawn the connection between excess sugar consumption and the development of cancer.

Similar research published in the journal Cancer Research found that the way in which sugar is metabolized stimulates cancer growth. The researchers reported: "Importantly, fructose and glucose metabolism are quite different … These findings show that cancer cells can readily metabolize fructose to increase proliferation."

What is even more concerning is that the scientists conducting the research used pancreatic cancer cells, widely considered to be the most deadly form of cancer. The discovery was monumental because not only did the researchers prove that tumor cells feed on sugar (glucose), but the tumor cells used fructose for cell division in order to speed up the growth and spread of the cancer. Fructose consumption actually led to a massive increase in tumor cell growth and proliferation way beyond that of glucose.

This cancer-feeding fructose is what the majority of Americans are consuming on a daily basis, to the point where high-fructose corn syrup is their number one source of calories. Even children are consuming excessive amounts of sugar in juice boxes, candy, and even ‘healthy’ sports beverages. The amount is so extreme that the average American consumes around 150 grams of sugar each day; whereas, many experts believe that the number should be around 15 grams per day or lower to prevent cancer.

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The Wal-Marts of Quasi-Organic Food

Farm Wars, Sept. 29, 2011

Widespread Glyphosate Pollution

Food tasting a little on the “chemical” side lately? Water smelling and tasting a little off?

“Glyphosate, one of the most heavily used weed-killers in the world, has been found in air, rain and rivers in two states examined by government scientists.” (EWG)

And as the second “green revolution” of Monsanto’s GMO crops and subsequent sales of Roundup pesticides for use with those crops increases exponentially, so does the water pollution. The main ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate. But what most don’t know is that for its proprietary pesticide mixes, surfactants are used. Surfactants ride in on the glyphosate as inerts, with the glyphosate acting as a sort of Trojan Horse. No one has to know they are there, and they can be deadly.

The most widely used type of surfactants in glyphosate formulations are known as ethylated amines. POEA (polyoxy-ethyleneamine) has been frequently mentioned as a surfactant, but in fact it refers to a group of ethylated amine products used in glyphosate formulations. Members of this group of surfactants are significantly more toxic than glyphosate. They are serious irritants of eyes, the respiratory tract and skin, and have been found to contain dioxane (not dioxin) contaminants which are suspected of being carcinogenic.(Pan-UK)

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