Guest guest Posted October 3, 2003 Report Share Posted October 3, 2003 Fri, 3 Oct 2003 07:43:42 -0500 WC Douglass It's all relative Daily Dose October 3, 2003 ************************************************************** Lies, damn lies, and marketing... Ah, Twain. The father of so many of our oft-used turns of phrase, including this gem (which he attributes to Disraeli, though it's not present in any of that statesman's published works) from his autobiography: " There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies, and statistics. " Well I'm here to tell you that ALL THREE KINDS of lies (and more) are routinely told about prescription drugs. And innocently enough, all of these shameless prevarications bear the same innocuous name: Marketing. Now, I know what you're thinking: C'mon, doc, this is nothing new. Companies always lie - with or without the statistics - to try and sell you something... That's true. In fact, you may remember me saying the exact same thing about the cancer drug Tamoxifen. Touted as the " magic bullet " for breast cancer prevention (some claimed a cancer risk reduction of up to 50%), in reality even the most favorable studies showed Tamoxifen cutting breast cancer risk by only 1%. Oh, and it INCREASED the risk of other female-specific cancers into the bargain - a fact that I'm sure wasn't exactly front-and-center in the sales brochure... So how can drug companies get away with overstating the so- called " benefits " of their poisonous products? With the magic of statistics - specifically, by obscuring the distinction between RELATIVE risk and ABSOLUTE risk. Confusing, I know, but bear with me and I'll explain - using a current example you're sure to hear a lot more about in the near future: A new " wonder drug " for heart disease called the Polypill. The Polypill is nothing more than a " cocktail " of existing heart drugs whipped up into a once-a-day pill patients will be expected to take for years on end - maybe even the rest of their lives (cha-ching! $$$) - for the prevention of heart disease and coronary events. The claims made by this drug's makers are awesome indeed. Among these is a claimed 34% rate of prevention for heart attacks. What's this based on? Smoke and mirrors. Here's what I mean... In one study, the Polypill group suffered heart attacks at a rate of 2.7%, while the placebo group endured a slightly higher rate of 4.1%. The ABSOLUTE risk reduction associated with the drug is a paltry 1.4%. Hardly enough benefit to sell billions of dollars worth of pills. But since 2.7 is only 66% of 4.1, the RELATIVE risk reduction is 34%. Much more impressive when you say it that way, isn't it? Meaningless, but impressive. Now, which of these numbers - 1.4% or 34% - do you imagine is most likely to show up in the marketing materials (both to doctors and directly to consumers) of this new " miracle drug? " The big, dramatic, and TOTALLY MISLEADING one, of course. Folks, this is par for the course for drug marketing. And what's even scarier is that this kind of statistical charlatanism is becoming so slick and so polished that even formerly credible sources like peer-reviewed medical journals are often unwittingly co-opted into becoming marketing accomplices for the drug giants. Don't believe me? One need look no further than the June 28th issue of the British Medical Journal for proof. In it, the editor of that magazine is so swayed by the one-sided presentation of the " evidence " supporting Polypill that he wrote an editorial praising it himself! So much for objectivity, huh? ************************************************************** To start receiving your own copy of the Daily Dose, visit: http://www.realhealthnews.com/dailydose/freecopy.html Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up to receive their own copy of the Daily Dose. ************************************************************** What you didn't know about the mainstream's favorite vitamin... I've been talking a lot about vitamin C lately - like in the last 30 years or so. And although a lot of mainstream sources have long touted this miraculous antioxidant for things like boosting immunity to colds and flu (a perfectly good use for it, by the way), I feel they've been missing the boat on the vitamin's other major benefits. Why, just in the last year, I've told you about how significant daily doses of C can help prevent cataracts and control hyperglycemia... Well, here's some even better news about vitamin C's power to help you live longer and healthier: A recent large-scale study proves that vitamin C helps cut heart disease risk in women (but surely in men, too) by as much as 28%! As reported in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, the 16- year study of over 85,000 women measured a distinct correlation between SUPPLEMENTAL vitamin C and a reduced risk of heart disease. Notice I stressed the word supplemental. That's because the study noted virtually no reduction in heart risk simply from increased vitamin C in the diet. This proves what I've been saying all along - that it would be extraordinarily difficult for most people to get optimum amounts of vitamin C from FOOD ALONE. To really reap the healthy benefits, you must add at least 1,200 (but 2,000 is better) milligrams a day of a quality, easily absorbable supplement. Skeptics will say that these findings are worthless because this landmark study isn't double blind/placebo controlled. But I know better - powerful antioxidant vitamin C is one of the things I've counted on for years to help keep my ticker in tip-top shape... C-ing the absolute truth, William Campbell Douglass II, MD ************************************************************** Copyright ©1997-2003 by www.realhealthnews.com, L.L.C. 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