Truth is not Free

[Guest guest]

Dr. SherriSep 25, 2007 7:34 PMFrom drugs to vaccines, phama needs to be held accountable for the damage and deaths caused by their products. --Dr Sherri The following post is by Dr. David Egilman, a familiar figure to those whohave been following the case of Eli Lilly’s schizophrenia drug Zyprexa. SeeAlex Berenson’s New York Times articles on the case for more background, or read David Michaels’s post about Zyprexa and sequestered science. — Editor“The Truth is Not Free”By David EgilmanSeptember 11, 2007All that is needed for the forces of evil to succeed is for enough goodpeople to remain silent.– Edmund BurkeThe consequences of silence can be devastating. My father spent WWII in aGerman concentration camp largely as a consequence of silence. In responseto the Holocaust, which was facilitated by the silence of a nation, I havedevoted much of my professional career to studying and reporting theeffects of silence on public health.Last December, I was subpoenaed for copies of internal documents that Iacquired as a consulting witness in litigation against the pharmaceuticalcompany Eli Lilly. I released all of the documents I had, which made theirway to The New York Times and became the basis for four major articles.After the Times stories ran, 30 states subpoenaed documents detailingLilly’s sales, marketing and promotional practices for Zyprexa as part ofcivil investigations under state consumer protection laws.I recently reached a settlement with Lilly and agreed to pay the company$100,000. I admitted responsibility for violating the protective order thatkept Lilly’s documents secret. I admitted that the documents I leaked didnot tell the full story about Zyprexa. I did not, however, admit thatLilly’s “story” of the drug is based on fact, nor did I admit to anyillegal conduct. And notably, although Lilly claims that the stories thatran in the Times did not accurately reflect its marketing practices or itsknowledge of Zyprexa’s side effects, Lilly has refused to release documentsthat it claims paint a different picture. Even today, Lilly fights incourt to keep those documents secret from the public.However, I refuse to silence my voice on the dangerous effects of corporatesecrecy. History has demonstrated time and time again that such silencebrings nothing but harm.The silence of asbestos companies and their doctors, who hid theirknowledge of the hazards of asbestos, permitted a carcinogen to be used fora century in schools, homes and offices. The entire town of Libby, Montanafell victim to that silence. Too late, litigation revealed what companiesand their doctors had known for over a hundred years. Asbestos was killingthousands.The silence of flavoring companies and their doctors, who hid theirknowledge of the hazards of butter flavored popcorn, allowed these toxicfoods to be sold to an unsuspecting public for more than 20 years. Therecent outbreak of lung disease in consumers of butter flavored popcorn isthe cost of this silence. Yet litigation revealed the truth – thesecompanies had known the flavorings caused disease for decades. In thiscase, there may still be time to avoid another asbestos-like epidemic.The silence of Eli Lilly & Company and their doctors about the hazards ofOraflex, a drug they knew caused fatal liver failure, resulted inunnecessary deaths of American patients. Once again, litigation revealedthe truth. Lilly pleaded guilty to 25 criminal charges of failing to informthe United States government about adverse reactions to Oraflex andmislabeling the drug. The same story keeps repeating itself. Over the years, silica, lead,tobacco, pesticides, beryllium, Vioxx, Oraflex and hundreds of other toxicproducts have ended up in our food, our medicine, our air and our water. Itis the silence of corporations and their doctors, not a lack of knowledge,which is the root cause of this never-ending circle of public healthdisasters.This blanket of silence is becoming so heavy that doctors are forgettingwhere their loyalties lie. The medical director of one asbestos company wasasked why he hadn’t warned his patients, those who developed asbestosis andcancer from their work, of the hazards of asbestos. He explained that hehad indeed warned his patients; that the company was his “patient.” Irefuse to go the way of that doctor and remain silent on issues importantto the public health, for the cost is always the loss of innocent lives.When I graduated from medical school, I took an oath to protect the publichealth. That oath supersedes all other agreements, including those thatprevent me from protecting public health by releasing information. Myobligation to the health and safety of others is the same as that of aphysician who informs the police about a patient who has “in confidence”threatened injury on another. My obligation is the same as that of apediatrician who “violates” confidentiality to report possible child abuseto the police. If Lilly has “secret” documents that indicate that its drugs are safe orthat their marketing practices were appropriate, they have the right torelease them and it is in their interest to do so. Their silence isdeafening. Silence can injure and kill. For public health, the sound of silence is thefuneral dirge. I have not and will never play that tune.All that is needed for the forces of evil to succeed is for enough goodpeople to remain silent.David S. Egilman, MD, MPH is Clinical Associate Professor at BrownUniversity’s Department of Community Health.