Latest Trustworthy News from Dr. Mercola - delivered straight to your inbox!
Get 20% Off on Earth Day Sale Get 20% Off on Earth Day Sale

OxyContin Goes Global — “We’re Only Just Getting Started”

  • December 19, 2016

American health officials have declared war on the opioid epidemic occurring across the nation, causing sales for the opioid pain killer, OxyContin, to plummet. So, according to the LA Times, OxyContin’s manufacturers have decided to plug the sales hole by pushing their product overseas, in places less able to fight the inevitable abuse and addiction the drug causes.

This brazen attitude — to maintain and boost sales no matter what — is replete within the entire drug industry, with nothing to stop it until dozens or hundreds or even thousands of lawsuits are filed in the wake of injuries and deaths caused by certain drugs. (Vioxx is a perfect example.) One of the ruthless strategies for doing this is to create an affliction and then convince people they not only have the affliction, but need the drug solution they see through advertising.

While direct-to-consumer advertising is allowed in only two countries in the world, Big Pharma has figured out myriad ways to get around that, by using social media — which is available worldwide — to spread their sales pitches. From sponsored pages to advertorials that look almost exactly like news reports, Big Pharma is ramping up its sales programs. Add in its massive campaign to bribe doctors to push drugs on patients, and Pharma’s parade just keeps marching.

If you want to know if Pharma is secretly padding your doctor’s pockets, there now is a website where you can learn that, at OpenPaymentsData.CMS.gov. In less than two years, this government site has tallied up nearly $6.5 billion in payments to doctors.