Who do you trust?

In the news this week: A Doctor accused of falsifying medical research and being paid off by Big Pharma. Dr. Scott Reuben, was accused of faking medical research studies, including many that were published in medical journals, has been charged with health care fraud Thursday in federal court. This so called medical professional accepted money from mega-pharmaceutical giants Pfizer and Merck to do "Studies" on some of their major medications (Celebrex, Vioxx, Bextra), yet not one of these studies was actually done- not one patient was enrolled in any study.

"He's accused of accepting a $75,000 grant from Pfizer to research the effectiveness of the pain medication Celebrex for a 2005 study, the Day reports.

His research, which the Day reports was pioneering at the the time, indicated that there are post-surgery benefits from painkillers. But no patients were actually enrolled in the study, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.

The Wall Street Journal reports that he also falsified information about Pfizer's Bextra and on Merck's Vioxx.

“Anesthesia & Analgesia” had to retract 10 papers Reuben wrote and medical experts say at least 21 journal articles by the anesthesiologist appear to be fabricated, the Day reports.

Reuben was the chief of acute pain at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachusetts, and The Day reports that the hospital let him go last March, after an audit revealed he had been inventing data for as many as 13 years."

...Still believe what you read?

While the medical community is tsk tsking this incident, it begs the question: If this doctor was able to get away with this fraudulent activity for 13 years, who else is writing themselves their own retirement fund? Only an ostrich would believe that this is a one-off incident.

Writing false articles and making up imaginary studies is not limited to the realm of Big Pharma either. Mega Corporate Giant Nestle has been caught with their hand in the false research cookie jar before as well. Canadian scientist, Dr Ranjit Chandra, created extensive falsified research that was used by Nestlé to promote its infant formulas.
http://www.babymilkaction.org/press/press3feb06.html
http://www.infactcanada.ca/INFACTWinter2006NLfinalcommercial.pdf

The time has come my friends, to really start doing your OWN research into products and claims made by these mega corporations that are only interested in earning a big buck, because apparently dollars and cents mean more to them than the health of their consumers.

Oh What a shock!!!!

HERE to read the entire NBC article