Bad Pharma

Bad Pharma by Ben Goldacre is a book that places  the $600bn global pharmaceutical industry under the microscope.

What he reveals is a fascinating, terrifying mess. He succeeds in extracting complicated facts  and figures from the medical world and converting them into a very readable book. I have just read ‘Bad Science’ also by Ben Goldacre, it is a very easy to read but very alarming at the same time. I enjoy dipping into it and reading a chapter.

The Author

Ben Goldacre is a doctor, writer, broadcaster and academic. He specialises in taking scientific claims from many sources and revealing them to be unreliable. He reveals the truth behind many scientific claims and shows how dodgy and unreliable many of them can be. His first book, Bad Science, reached Number One in the non-fiction charts, sold over 400,000 copies in the UK alone, and has been translated into 25 languages.

The book ‘Bad Pharma‘

Before a decision can be taken good and reliable evidence is essential. The applies particularly to the medical world where people’s lives are at stake. Ben Goldacre shows that pharmaceutical companies can run bad trials when testing their drugs which distort and exaggerate the benefits. If the trials fail to produce the expected results then the information is lost or buried

These actions are legal. Even government regulators can withhold important data and this does not protect those who need the information. Ben Goldacre shows that even doctors and patient groups have stood by and failed to protect us.

It is an industry where money talks, favours change decisions. Nurse and doctors receive their training from the same people that are changing the results.

Comments

• ‘What keeps you turning its pages is the accessibility of Goldacre’s writing … his genuine, indignant passion, his careful gathering of evidence and his use of stories, some of them personal, which bring the book to life.’ Luisia Dilner, Guardian.
• Goldacre’s book is restrained and forensic in its tone. There is no bilious hyperbole, just careful analysis
• An eye opener. A bit scary, and it leads to the “What can I do about it”! Well worth reading.
• He outlines clearly, in detail, and with much evidence, the scams, lies, ploys & practices of drug companies and their promoters

I highly recommend the book Bad Pharma. Buy it now, it is a genuine eye opener.

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