"Peter Jennings Reporting: Bitter Medicine: Pills, Profit and the Public Health" to air Wed. Night

ABCNEWS | May 28, 2002

[Timesink]

ABCNEWS will air a one-hour special report on America's billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry that asks: "What are we getting for our money?"

"Peter Jennings Reporting — Bitter Medicine: Pills, Profit and the Public Health," will air Wednesday, May 29 from 10-11 p.m. ET on the ABC Television Network.

More money is spent on prescription drugs in America than in any other country in the world. Most of the current debate surrounding this billion-dollar industry focuses on questions about their high cost and how to pay for them. But in an hourlong primetime ABCNEWS special, Peter Jennings asks the crucial questions that have been overlooked in the debate so far:

What drugs are we getting for our money? Are the new drugs on the market really better than the old drugs? How are consumers supposed to know which drugs are best?

Watch the broadcast and log on to ABCNEWS.com at 2 p.m. ET on Thursday for a live, online chat.

[Timesink]

Fair and balanced, or an anti-drug company hit piece? There's only one way to find out. You have been warned!

[Timesink]

bump for bump lists

[let freedom sing]

If it's Peter Jennings Reporting, you know there has to be a bias somewhere-- more pro-leaglization of drugs from the left.

[Cicero]

Do we expect to learn anything informative from watching this show? Of course not.

S.O.P. for these so-called "news" shows is that the producers decide beforehand what they want to find, and then they find it. Never mind the facts. If you want to get educated about anything, look elsewhere than TV.

[Shermy]

How are consumers supposed to know which drugs are best?

By watching television commercial campaigns indoctrinating us as to what expensive drugs to demand from our doctors.

[CharlieDarwin]

Peter Lenin to the rescue. Going to save us from the world's premiere pharmaceutical enterprise, I guess. Thanks, comrade Peter.

[wjcsux]

I will be hearding earthworms in my yard. Unfortunately, I will miss it.

[MI]

Over 98 percent of the costs of drug manufacturing are in response to FDA guidelines.

Following procedures that have been mandated by the FDA.

Perhaps Comrad Jennings should look else ware in his attempt to reduce drug costs.
MI

[RoseofTexas]

We oughta email these COMMUNIST BASTARDS! They are trying extremely hard to make the USA a third world country, with the liberal RATS in power to puppet the people their way!! I HATE THEM!! JUST watch! The pharmaceutical industry will be the next to get the axe! Remember Enron? These clymers will stop at NOTHING to bring down the prosperity of our nation. Ever notice how those clymers grin from ear to ear when the stock market is tanking that particular day!?

[Henchster]

Prescription drugs will be the headline, the underying theme however, will be the need for a National healthcare system to "solve" the problem.

The shift will then be to: "Too bad Hillary's plan didn't get passed by those mean old Republicans."

And finally, the not-to-subtle hint (Sheeple aren't too smart, better whack them over the skull with it pretty hard) that President Bush has failed us, and we need a President like, well...Hillary.

There, I don't need to watch the show, but I do need to go hurl.

[Black Agnes]

Oh for heavens sake, It isn't ALL about weed. This has more to do with nationalizing the health care industry, or at least a big %age of the pharma industry. It's about pill subsidies for the geezer crowd. It's easier to take a pill than it is to change a lifestyle and dammit, that pill had better be cheap!

[Nitro]

If I wanted any sh*t out of Peter Jennings...

I would squeeze his head!!

[JmyBryan]

Won't be that hard-hitting. Seems to me the networks are making a very large percentage of their ad revenues from pharmaceuticals these days.

[Black Agnes]

Let the buyer beware. I don't feel sorry for people who are tricked into demanding expensive and unnecessary drugs from their doctors. I blame them, and their doctors for being patsy's. OTOH, if you don't know what drugs are out there, what protection do YOU have from unscrupulous doctors who prescribe drugs (regardless of their benefit to you) from companies they've invested in? Or, just prescribe what was the norm when they were in medical school umpteen years ago. Car companies advertise, food companies advertise...pharma companies weren't allowed to advertise at all till some law got changed in '96.

[RichardW]

The knee jerk reaction to this is expected but anyone not politically astute not to recognize the gravity of this crisis (yes it is a crisis!) is only going to bury the Republican chances for taking the senate this year. There are some positive things that could be done and the very first thing is to put a stop to to the ridiculous jury awards that the trial lawyers are getting and they own the Democratic party. If I were Bush I would run against the trial lawyers. Everyone (or nearly every one) hates them anyway.

[Fish out of Water]

fyi

[CARepubGal]

Oh that was unfair. Now my happy day is ruined. Pardon me while I hurl!

[Gladwin]

Part of the criticism is going to be against Celebrex and Vioxx. Both of these drugs are for treating arthritis. I take Celebrex, and I am very pleased by it. Before I took it, I could not roll over in bed. Now, I can do everything I could before my arthritis in my hips and back appeared.

They are going to say that Advil works just as good as Celebrex. ( yeah, riigggttt!)

[metesky]

Up here in Maine we have a broad woman running on the platform that, "Big Pharmacuticals don't want to give more discounts."

[buffyt]

Anti Drug hit piece. My husband is with Dow Chemical. We (Dow) try to make a profit so we can make payroll for thousands of Dow employees. We all love to eat, doncha know. But we have gotten pretty much out of pharmaceuticals. No matter how high the price of the med. it is hard to make a profit in pharm. There is so much research and development and testing... and risk of lawsuit. The gov. is regulating many pharm. companies right out of the business.