Ran into this too - It's actually a tiny part of a lengthy article
that warns women not to take confessions to their gynecologist,
either, if they value their lives. I'm sure it says more than that,
but it's too long for me to read! Maybe another avid reader might
check it out and summarize?

P 5 and 6 of 8

The success of the Cohn & Wolfe campaign didn't escape notice in the
industry: Trade journals applauded GlaxoSmithKline for creating "a
strong anti-anxiety position" and assuring a bright future for Paxil.
Increasing public awareness of SAD and other disorders, the consulting
firm Decision Resources predicted last year, would expand the "anxiety
market" to at least $3 billion by 2009. In 2000, the New York chapter
of the Public Relations Society of America named the Cohn & Wolfe SAD
campaign "Best P.R. Program of 1999."

THE LESSONS of "Imagine Being Allergic to People" were also not lost
on Zoloft's manufacturer, Pfizer. In 1999, Pfizer gained FDA approval
to market Zoloft as a treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder
(PTSD). Until then, the condition had been associated almost
exclusively with combat veterans and victims of violent crime; now,
Pfizer set out to convince Americans that PTSD could, in fact, afflict
almost anyone.

The company funded the creation of the PTSD Alliance, a group that is
staffed by employees of Pfizer's New York public-relations firm, the
Chandler Chicco Agency, and operates out of the firm's offices. The
Alliance connects journalists with PTSD experts such as Jerilyn Ross,
president and CEO of the Anxiety Disorders Association of America, a
group that is heavily subsidized by Pfizer as well as GlaxoSmithKline,
Eli Lilly, and other drug-industry titans.

In the months following the launch of Pfizer's campaign, media
mentions of PTSD skyrocketed. Just weeks after the Alliance's founding
in 2000, for example, the New York Times ran a story citing
Pfizer-supplied statistics on childhood PTSD, according to which 1 in
6 minors who experience the "sudden death of a close friend or
relative" will develop the disorder. Other stories highlighted studies
promoted by the alliance according to which 1 in 13 Americans will
suffer from PTSD at some point in their lives.

Eye-catching figures are integral to disease marketing campaigns,
though the quality of the data is sometimes dubious. A report
published last February in the Archives of General Psychiatry warned
that high estimates on the number of people suffering mental-health
conditions often include people whose symptoms are so mild as to not
require treatment. "When people look at numbers that say close to 30
percent of the American public has a mental disorder and therefore
needs treatment, most would say that is implausibly too high," the
study's lead author, William E. Narrow, told the Associated Press.

Many of the statistics used to promote new disorders are taken from
studies published in second-tier journals, which frequently depend on
direct corporate support. One publication that has drawn fire is the
Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, whose major funders include
GlaxoSmithKline and Eli Lilly. In 1993, the journal published a study
claiming that anxiety disorders cost the United States $46.6 billion
per year, primarily due to lost productivity. That figure was repeated
in countless press releases and made its way into articles in the
Washington Post and USA Today.

The study was produced by the Institute for Behavior and Health, a
research firm headed by Dr. Robert DuPont, who served as President
Ford's drug czar. The institute's tax returns indicate that its
programs are funded almost exclusively by industry research grants; in
1999, for example, it conducted clinical trials on behalf of Merck,
Pfizer, and Solvay. DuPont was paid more than $50,000 that year for 10
hours of work per week, in addition to a $56,000 fee that the
institute paid to his for-profit consulting firm. The 1993 anxiety
study was paid for in part by Upjohn, maker of the SSRI Luvox.

Studies published in medical journals are also useful in reaching a
key audience for disease-awareness campaigns--doctors. Physicians,
especially general practitioners, are under growing pressure to make
quick diagnoses and to treat mental-health conditions with drugs
rather than refer patients to psychotherapy. Primary-care physicians
now write upwards of 60 percent of antidepressant prescriptions,
according to the American Psychiatric Association. "There is a
pressure to have treatments that are perceived as faster or more
efficient," says Dr. Robert Michels, chief of psychiatry at Cornell
Medical College.

Drug companies are understandably eager to help physicians identify
conditions that can be treated with their products. One widely
distributed diagnostic checklist, a 15-minute test that promises to
screen for 17 different disorders using special software, was
developed by GlaxoSmithKline. Pfizer has funded a test designed to
help obstetricians and gynecologists identify women with mental-health
problems. According to a 2000 study, sponsored by Pfizer and published
in the American Journal of Obstetrics, a full 20 percent of all ob-gyn
patients may need psychiatric treatment for anything from depression
and anxiety to eating disorders.

Most of all, though, pharmaceutical makers seek to build word of mouth
about a condition in the general public--the kind of water-cooler buzz
that prompts people to ask their doctor about a disease, and the drug
that might treat it. To that end, corporations have increasingly
embraced patient organizations that work to publicize mental illness.
One such group is the National Mental Health Awareness Campaign,
created two years ago to eliminate "the fear and shame that is still
strongly associated with mental disorders." The organization is
particularly concerned with teenagers, and has run several ads on MTV
that encourage unhappy youths to call a toll-free number or visit its
Web site. A couple of weeks after the September 11 terrorist attacks,
it released the results of a survey, which found that 30 percent of
adults questioned felt their mental health had worsened since the
tragedy. The group's press release urged "parents and children
traumatized by the recent terrorist attacks to avail themselves of the
opportunity to speak to mental health professionals."

The campaign's brochures say it has received financial support from
the Surgeon General's office. The organization is less forthright
about its ties to FoxKiser, a pharmaceutical lobbying firm whose
clients include Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca. Michael
Waitzkin, a partner at FoxKiser, is on the campaign's board of
directors, and until recently the campaign was headquartered in
FoxKiser's Washington office. (It now operates from the office of the
P.R. firm Health Strategies Consultancy.)

http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m...le.jhtml?term=

These kinds of reports must even make bin laden feel stupid:

As competition for the children's prescription market has become more
intense, drug companies have also ratcheted up advertising, sometimes
with dubious claims: When Schering-Plough ran ads suggesting that the
allergy drug Claritin would keep kids more attentive at school, the
FDA reprimanded the company for "misleading" consumers. Now that
Claritin's patent has expired (and generic competitors are free to
make the drug), Schering-Plough is encouraging kids to switch to its
new allergy drug, Clarinex, sponsoring soccer tournaments and sports
equipment giveaways for inner-city kids -- even as consumer groups and
medical experts complain that in many cases it's better to keep
children away from allergens than to give them drugs. "People tend to
want to have their problem labeled and get an easy treatment to fix
it," says the University of Virginia's Borowitz. "I'm afraid our
children are absorbing that attitude as well."

Who currently sits on the AA board of trustees? Can't seem to find a
list on their website.

I was wondering - what if Pfizer et al. are in fact correct, and
America really is experiencing a massive plague of mental illness?

Although potentially profitable to the pillers of society, like
counselors, therapists, social workers, psychologists, doctors,
judges, police, professors, ob-gyns and CEOs etc. etc., how is it that
they themselves have escaped the condition? How could they be well,
while society at large is not?

Are they keeping some magic cure/formula from us? Could they be so
ill-intentioned?

I know. I will ask my Bellsouth Customer Service Representative, as
hard to speak to as God himself. This will be my self-sacrifice
today. I will wait on hold for as long as it takes to discover these
answers to life's mysteries. I will share what I find, if I find. I
will share of my time and slender resource: The VTech handheld
speakerphone, with anyone who means business.

rock

rock,
you seem to focus on the drug industry a lot, do you hold a lot of
stock in them or something?

btw, i know of a few folks in the field who also suffer from mental
illness and need to continue their treatment to be healthy.
just like diabetes, it can be an ongoing disease.

imo, there is no secret involved in the treatment of chemical
imbalances, it takes knowledge, willingness, and lots of patience.

--
rosie

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or
that
we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only
unpatriotic
and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."
........................................T.Roosevel t
http://www.misleader.org

















"rockhound" <user@null.org> wrote in message
news:8c981a1f653a0ded8a5d52b194e083a5@news.teranew s.com...
: I was wondering - what if Pfizer et al. are in fact correct, and
: America really is experiencing a massive plague of mental illness?
:
: Although potentially profitable to the pillers of society, like
: counselors, therapists, social workers, psychologists, doctors,
: judges, police, professors, ob-gyns and CEOs etc. etc., how is it
that
: they themselves have escaped the condition? How could they be
well,
: while society at large is not?
:
: Are they keeping some magic cure/formula from us? Could they be
so
: ill-intentioned?
:
: I know. I will ask my Bellsouth Customer Service Representative,
as
: hard to speak to as God himself. This will be my self-sacrifice
: today. I will wait on hold for as long as it takes to discover
these
: answers to life's mysteries. I will share what I find, if I find.
I
: will share of my time and slender resource: The VTech handheld
: speakerphone, with anyone who means business.
:
: rock

On Sat, 1 May 2004 07:19:15 -0500, "rosie" <sorry@toomanyweirdo's.com>
wrote:

>rock,
>you seem to focus on the drug industry a lot, do you hold a lot of
>stock in them or something?

They have caught my eye; i am unclear on the issue. I think i have a
resentment towards them. They are on my shit list. Does your
addictionologist recommend stock in Pfizer? I have been asking people
whether they think i could sleep at night if i did. I think i would
be better off with the Google IPO 'Don't be evil' approach.

I once had a terrible nightmare ordeal of paranoia, directly resulting
from being convinced that god's will for me was to take the welfare
money of a man with a terrible case of bigshotism. My great moral
dilemma had been over whether to leave him a quarter for a phone call
or not.

I had managed to send an apology to him through a third party who was
traveling once, but have never really repaid that debt, having so long
been convinced god told me to.

Dushan, if you're out there, it's me.

Anyway, i don't care to go through that again.

rockhound

>btw, i know of a few folks in the field who also suffer from mental
>illness and need to continue their treatment to be healthy.
>just like diabetes, it can be an ongoing disease.
>
>imo, there is no secret involved in the treatment of chemical
>imbalances, it takes knowledge, willingness, and lots of patience.

"rockhound" <user@null.org> wrote in message
news:45113f31b963cee76489c0d5fe3d84b0@news.teranew s.com...
: On Sat, 1 May 2004 07:19:15 -0500, "rosie"
<sorry@toomanyweirdo's.com>
: wrote:
:
: >rock,
: >you seem to focus on the drug industry a lot, do you hold a lot
of
: >stock in them or something?
:
: They have caught my eye; i am unclear on the issue. I think i
have a
: resentment towards them. They are on my shit list.


are ALL pharmaceutical companies on your shit list?
do you know why?

oes your
: addictionologist recommend stock in Pfizer?

i don't discuss my financial planning with him.

On Sat, 01 May 2004 13:02:44 GMT, "rosie" <sorry@toomanyweirdo's.com>
wrote:

>"rockhound" <user@null.org> wrote in message
>news:45113f31b963cee76489c0d5fe3d84b0@news.terane ws.com...
>: On Sat, 1 May 2004 07:19:15 -0500, "rosie"
><sorry@toomanyweirdo's.com>
>: wrote:
>:
>: >rock,
>: >you seem to focus on the drug industry a lot, do you hold a lot
>of
>: >stock in them or something?
>:
>: They have caught my eye; i am unclear on the issue. I think i
>have a
>: resentment towards them. They are on my shit list.
>
>
>are ALL pharmaceutical companies on your shit list?
>do you know why?

Yes.

They spoil Christmas.

>
>oes your
>: addictionologist recommend stock in Pfizer?
>
>i don't discuss my financial planning with him.
>

On Sat, 01 May 2004 12:37:55 GMT, rockhound <user@null.org> wrote:

>They have caught my eye; i am unclear on the issue. I think i have a
>resentment towards them. They are on my shit list. Does your
>addictionologist recommend stock in Pfizer? I have been asking people
>whether they think i could sleep at night if i did. I think i would
>be better off with the Google IPO 'Don't be evil' approach.

I have determined after further investigation that the Google IPO
'don't be evil' approach is really no different than the Pfizer 'we're
not evil' approach.

Both attempt to sell just another pretty face, while hiding
substantially bad intentions underneath.

Google plays sweet, honest and innocent, while plans get underway to
read people's email in order to deliver better targeted spam. Those
boys next door are just sneaking out from under this insubstantial
shit heap before it collapses.

It isn't even really a very good search engine.

If this continuing disillusion with the get rich quick lottery keeps
pace, I might have to settle for seeking honest meaningful employment
as a means of paying my debts. Crap.

rockhound

On Mon, 03 May 2004 13:23:06 GMT, rockhound <user@null.org> wrote:

>If this continuing disillusion with the get rich quick lottery keeps
>pace, I might have to settle for seeking honest meaningful employment
>as a means of paying my debts. Crap.
>
>rockhound

Out of fear JB might be getting ahead of me on step 8, i took a peek
at step 9, plunged in recklessly, and called up some ppl who'd paid me
half in advance for work i never did. Finding myself in over my head
in both cases, i'd skipped town or changed email. Mentioning i had no
cash on hand to repay yet, but was beginning an attempted repair of my
past conduct to get over alcoholism, and wished to make contact, both
parties have foolishly invited me instead to complete the work.

Still don't think i'm capable of it...was my big mouth that got me
into this mess in the first place. Told them i'd think it over and
try not to let my overinflated sense of self get the better of me.

Anyway it got me wondering - should you wait to contact creditors till
you have money, or can you offer to trade other things instead,
meantime, in the interests of clearing a conscience faster? Or is
that selfish and won't work?

Also, money for money seems like it should be a no-brainer, but, like,
how is buddy for example supposed to make peace with those bikers who
fronted him that ounce he snorted, so he can extract himself from
hiding out in church basements ??? Does anybody know for sure if
'God' supposedly answers these questions?

Any experience in this strange forest would be welcome. Or maybe i
better just wait and watch JB get ahead of me, and get on with this
freaking inventory crap. I think i have enough to go on, now, though,
for a start...

rockhound