Medicamentos Madrid Mansfield2 H Sand Others

Healthy Skepticism Inc and other people and groups with similar aims

• National organisations and people – NoFreeLunch USA, NoFreeLunch UK

– No Grazie Pago Io (Italy), Mezis (Germany)

– Prescrire (France)

– PharmAware UK, American Medical Students Association PharmaFree

• International organisations– Health Action International

– Healthy Skepticism Inc

• If you want to go fast, go alone;

• If you want to go far, go together.

-African proverb

National organisations and people

www.nofreelunch.org

Our mission is to encourage health care providers to practice medicine on the basis of scientific evidence rather than on the basis of pharmaceutical promotion. We discourage the acceptance of all gifts from industry by health care providers, trainees, and students. Our goal is improved patient care.

NoFreeLunch USA

• One person

• A website

• The NFL pledge and directory

NoFreeLunch UK

• One person

• A website

• A list of supporters

No grazie pago io (Italy)

• to establish rules of behaviour

• to collect documentation

• to diffuse information about violations of the international codes and about conflicts of interest

• to adhere to the principles of transparency and independence

• 200 members

We are among those who say once and for all: NO THANKS! No thank you to sources of biased information : we prefer to pay reliable sources. No thank you poisoned gifts, we do need any "sponsorship" or other "partnerships". No thank you to all the "facilities" and “benevolences" which lead to enslavement of our profession and its social and intellectual impoverishment. Whether professional, recreational or anything else, we prefer to pay ourselves, and remain fully free in our choices and actions.

AMSA PharmaFree

• www.amsa.org/prof/pharmfree.cfm

• Reclaiming the ethics of medicine by removing conflicts of interest, and restoring the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship

PharmAware UK

aims to maximise good practice and ethical interactions between healthcare professionals and pharmaceutical companies to enhance patient care. Alongside this we aim to educate and campaign on various international pharma issues. We have branches at medical schools around the UK.

Health Action International

• www.haiweb.org

• An independent, global network working to increase access to essential medicines and improve their rational use.

With regional offices in Africa (Nairobi), Asia Pacific (Colombo), Europe (Amsterdam) and Latin America (Lima) and a Global coordinating office in Amsterdam, HAI is a non-profit, independent, worldwide network of over 200 members including consumer groups, public interest NGOs, health care providers, academics, media and individuals in more than 70 countries.

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Healthy Skepticism

Improving health by reducing harm from misleading drug promotion

www.healthyskepticism.org

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Conceived in Bangladesh

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Anabolic steroids for malnourished children

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MaLAM Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing

• Copied Amnesty International

• Letters almost 1/month

• Quoted ad, evidence summary, questions

• Signed by doctors and pharmacists around the world

Who is Healthy Skepticism?

As of April 1:

• 1,615 subscribers + 193 members = 1,808

• 85 countries.

• Main funding source is subscription fees from 130 paid subscribers and members.

Subscribers ’ top 10 occupations

• Doctor 486• Pharmacist 240• Student 184• Other Health Professional 169• Other 143• Journalist 105• General Public 87• Retired 63• Pharmaceutical Industry 51• Nurse 38

Subscribers’ top 10 countries

• Australia 676• United States 412• United Kingdom 145• Canada 97• Spain 44• Italy 38• India 34• Sweden 30• New Zealand 28• Germany 26

Healthy Skepticism Management Group

• Elected by our members

• Span 5 countries

• At least one is fluent in English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish

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Jon Jureidini

Child Psychiatrist

Chair

Adelaide

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Heather Carter

GP

Adelaide

31

Joel Lexchin

Emergency Medicine,Health Policy

Toronto, Canada

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Melissa Raven

Social Sciences

Adelaide

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Agnés Vitry

Pharmacist

Adelaide

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Jörg Schaaber

Sociologist/ Medical Journalist

Bielefeld, Germany

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Joana Ramos

Social Worker

Seattle, USA

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Dee Mangin

GP

Christchurch, New Zealand

Healthy Skepticism activities/infrastructure

• Web library: has 13,576 references relevant to drug promotion

• Email discussion list

• Medical journal articles

• AdWatch

• Coming soon: Peer reviewed journal

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Medical journal articles

• Vitry A, Lexchin J, Mansfield PR. Is Australia's National Medicines Policy Failing? The Case of Cox-2 Inhibitors. Int J Health Serv. 2007;37(4):735-744.

• Spurling G, Mansfield P. General practitioners and pharmaceutical sales representatives: quality improvement research. Qual Saf Health Care. 2007 Aug;16(4):266-70

• Mansfield PR, Lexchin J, Wen LS, Grandori L, McCoy CP, Hoffman JR, Ramos J, Jureidini JN. Education for Health Professionals about Drug and Device Promotion: Advocates’ Recommendations. PLoS Med 2006:3(11): e451

Plans: Journal

Intersections in Health, Science and Commerce is a peer-reviewed journal exploring the contested boundaries between research, marketing and healthcare; and examining educational, regulatory, policy and other responses.

Plans: AdWatch Interactive

• Quick and easy for people around the world to contribute (eg 15 minutes per month)

• Illuminate logical, psychological and pharmacological techniques used in an ad.

• Interactive

• Feedback to company and regulatory agencies

• If you want to go fast, go alone;

• If you want to go far, go together.

-African proverb

HS draft policy re cooperation with organisations with similar aims• If the organisation has a membership fee we

will provide free HS membership for individuals who apply if the organisation pays a small % of their membership fee.

• For other organisations we will provide as much help as we can (on request). In exchange we request help to recruit HS subscribers and members.

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You are invited:

• Visit www.healthyskepticism.org

• Subscribers: Free monthly email alerts

• Paid Subscribers: – Gold $500 (Euro 300)

– Standard $100 (Euro 60)

– Concession $25 (Euro 15)

• Members: support our aims

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Healthy Skepticism

Improving health by reducing harm from misleading drug promotion

www.healthyskepticism.org