Healthy Skepticism Library item: 1344

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Publication type: news

Harper T.
Drugs from Canada spark U.S. row: Radio ads raise doubts over safety: Industry accused of scare tactics
Toronto Star 2003 Jul 16

Full text:

It may come as a shock, but Canadians are apparently putting their lives on the line each time they use prescription drugs approved by Ottawa.

Or so millions of Americans in more than half the 50 states are being told in radio commercials.

A bipartisan group of members of Congress yesterday blasted the radio campaign as irresponsible scare tactics by the giant U.S. pharmaceutical industry.

In a bid to defeat legislation that would allow the “reimportation” of American-made drugs from Canada and Europe, a lobby group calling itself the Seniors Coalition is questioning the safety of Canadian and European prescription drugs.

The Seniors Coalition ads say Americans are now facing a potential stream of drugs into their country for which there can be no assurances of “safety, effectiveness or quality.

“It’s one thing for a politician to risk their own life with unsafe medicines; it’s another for them to risk yours.”

That line set up a bare-knuckle battle between U.S. politicians and the drug industry, with Canadian drugs in the centre ring.

Beleaguered American seniors pay the highest prescription prices in the world. U.S. legislators fingered in the ads for backing the legislation ranging from conservative Republicans to liberal Democrats returned fire yesterday, banding together to denounce fear-mongering by a group they say is a front for the pharmaceutical industry.

Rahm Emanuel, an Illinois Democrat who sponsored the bill, launched his own counter-commercials.

“For years, the drug companies have had their way in Washington, spending millions on lobbyists and campaign money, aimed at anyone who gets in their way,” his ad says. “They can run their ads. We’re going to keep fighting to put seniors and taxpayers first.”

The debate over making cheaper Canadian drugs available to U.S. seniors is a side issue to a $400 billion, 10-year overhaul of the Medicare health insurance plan for U.S. seniors, which includes a new drug benefit program. Although the overhaul has been okayed in principle in both the House and Senate, the long, arduous task of trying to reconcile the variations in the packages that were approved by each chamber has only just begun. Unless common ground is found, what President George W. Bush has touted as the biggest makeover of U.S. Medicare since its inception in 1965 will not become law.

At a news conference yesterday, a bipartisan committee lined up at the mikes to attack the drug industry.

“They have gone over the edge. They are clearly in a panic,” said Bernie Sanders, an independent congressman from Vermont who was among the first to lead U.S. seniors across the border to buy cheaper Canadian drugs.

“This industry will stoop to (anything) to try to win this legislation.

They will lie about anybody, they cheat, they will come into anyone’s district and say whatever they have to say in order to protect their profits.”

Sanders said a million Americans, including many in his state, have bought prescription drugs in Canada.

“To the best of our knowledge, not one person has died. Not one person has become ill. Not one person,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Seniors Coalition, Christopher Butler, denied his group is a “front” for the pharmaceutical industry, but he acknowledged receiving funding from big drug makers. He would not say what proportion of its budget came from the industry.

He said it is not the Canadian government’s responsibility to safeguard drugs destined for the U.S. market and he said he didn’t think the Canadian taxpayer would be happy to be subsidizing American consumers.

“It’s not an indictment of the Canadian safety control it’s just that it’s not their job,” he said.

A government study requested by proponents of reimportation showed the regulatory process in Canada is virtually identical to that of the U.S. By some estimates, the reimportation of cheaper prescription drugs could save seniors $600 billion (U.S.) over 10 years, money that would come out of the big drug companies’ profits.

Similar moves have been vetoed by the White House citing safety concerns but many believe if this move is blocked it will be due to massive lobbying from an industry that last year hired 675 lobbyists: more than one for every member of the House of Representatives; about seven for each senator.