Canada: Red flags raised over anti-smoking guide [funding]

[AgentAnia]

Red flags raised over anti-smoking guide

The Canadian Cancer Society is about to publish an update to its guide that helps smokers who want to quit.

It cost $75,000 to redevelop the popular book, One Step at a Time, but the national charity didn't have to worry about the price. That's because it asked Pfizer Canada, the country's largest maker of nicotine replacement therapy products, to pay the cost.

Pharmaceutical giants are some of the top financial contributors to groups such as the Canadian Lung Association, the Canadian Cancer Society, the Toronto-based Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and others.

 

[Sundodger]

OH-OH, got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

 

[Uma]

Haha, I hope there's a rat trap in that cookie jar.

 

[CabinetGuyScott]

It appears the story is actually from January 2007.

But this in no way undermines the facts and details behind the relationships between the charities & the drug dealers.

And it affirms our suspicions that these shenanigans have been being played on the public for a very long time.

Good find there AgentAnia!

 

[AgentAnia]

Thanks, Scott, for putting a good spin on my inattention!

 

[patkin]

Maybe and maybe not OT but does anyone think there's an increase for various BP cessation products ads at least on TV. Maybe I just notice them more now but I think they've increased recently.

 

[DrMA]

Maybe and maybe not OT but does anyone think there's an increase for various BP cessation products ads at least on TV. Maybe I just notice them more now but I think they've increased recently.

I've been noticing the same thing myself.

 

[sonicdsl]

Maybe and maybe not OT but does anyone think there's an increase for various BP cessation products ads at least on TV. Maybe I just notice them more now but I think they've increased recently.

Probably (at least in part) due to the FDA relaxing the length of time they can (legally) be used/recommended too.

 

[AgentAnia]

Maybe and maybe not OT but does anyone think there's an increase for various BP cessation products ads at least on TV. Maybe I just notice them more now but I think they've increased recently.

Yes, I've noticed this too. (Along with a huge increase in the number of ads for prescription-only drugs, especially on the cable news channels. Hmmm...)

 

[CabinetGuyScott]

Maybe and maybe not OT but does anyone think there's an increase for various BP cessation products ads at least on TV. Maybe I just notice them more now but I think they've increased recently.

Now that you mention it...

Possibly in response to the exponential growth in the e-cig / vaping categories.

SonicDSL: Probably (at least in part) due to the FDA relaxing the length of time they can (legally) be used/recommended too.

Interesting about the endorsement for long-term use too.

 

[aikanae1]

It actually is a very good article ...

For Dr. Jerome Kassirer, professor at the Tufts University School of Medicine and editor-in-chief emeritus of the New England Journal of Medicine, the issue is simple: consumers have no way of knowing if they're listening to a sales pitch from a drug company that's disguised as advice from a charity.

"Would the pharmaceutical companies spend billions of dollars a year if they didn't think it was valuable?" he said. "Of course not."