HOT FLUSH FOR BIG PHARMA

August 27, 2003

The sale of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to women is a

multi-billion dollar cash cow for the pharmaceutical industry.

What will its PR machine do in the face of evidence that long-term HRT

use increases women's risk of blood clots, strokes, heart attacks,

breast cancer, and dementia, and has no quality of life benefits?

Jocalyn Clark recounts the history of the industry's campaign to

" medicalize menopause, " beginning in the 1960s when Wyeth, which

accounts for more than 70% of the global HRT market, subsidized the

publication of a book titled Forever Feminine, which touted hormone

replacements as a virtual fountain of youth for the " dull and

unattractive " aging woman.

More recently, PR firms such as RED Consultancy, the Social Issues Research

Centre, and Haas & Health Partner have orchestrated testimonials from

celebrities and

industry-funded nonprofit organizations to downplay evidence of

HRT's health risks and convince women that it will give them better

careers, relationships, health and sex lives.

SOURCE: British Medical Journal, August 16, 2003

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