Unsafe Medicine

People rely on medications to treat a wide variety of illnesses. Most of today’s medicine work as advertised and have manageable side effects. But occasionally we learn about drugs that are unreasonably dangerous. Some pharmaceutical companies will do everything in their power to mislead the public and hide crucial safety information to protect their bottom line.

The pharmaceutical industry is a booming business in the United States. Pharmaceutical companies spend about $19 billion a year advertising their drugs to physicians and to the public. This is twice as much as they spend on drug safety research. Unsafe medications may include prescription medications, prescribed by a physician and filled at a pharmacy; over-the-counter medications available without a prescription; and medications administered by health care providers in a hospital, surgical or other clinical setting.