Bryan - you say that it is sad that medicine is so judged, but you are missing a very important point.

Yes, pharmaceutical companies are driven by commercial imperatives and this is often at odds with our expectations of how medicine should be provided. By the vital point is that medicine is no synonymous with pharmaceutical companies. The efficacy, safety and utility of various drugs can be considered separately from the profit motive of drugs companies.

Yes, drugs companies often make that hard by not supplying crucial data, downplaying negative data and hyping good data - but it is not impossible. Drugs companies are not the only entitities interested in these questions.

No matter what difficulties drug companies pose in society - this has absolutely no bearing on whether things like homeopathy and vitamin pills work. These are questions that must stand on their own. And when examined we homeopaths and vitamin pill pusher misrepresenting and distorting evidence in very similar ways to drug companies.

Yes, we must demand a medical model that serves mankind and alleviates suffering - such a model will demand full disclosure of evidence, unbiased assessment of that evidence and practice in accordance with the evidence base. On that basis, I would say that alternative medicine has a much steeper hill to climb than science based medicine at the moment.

These drug companies just create more illnesse; because the poison they recommend to our gulable GP's, never cures anything. It may eleviate an illness, but it doesn't cure it. The problems are generally more simple than we think or believe. Since diabetes was discovered, we are still injecting ourselves; why is there not a cure for that condition by now. The billions spent on space and other explorative research is balmy. Surely, the curing of disease and autoimmune illnesses, should be well past their sell by dates with all the technology and brains we have out there. The GP and drug companies work in tandem and the sooner we take our own lives into stock the better we will all become and then those greedy drug companies will start investing in products that best support us not make us ill.

Chris - I am not sure what you are saying.

Is it - all GPS are uniformly gullible?

- I find this hard to believe since getting into medical school usually requires you be the brightest in the class.

Or - all GPs are uniformly corrupt?

- Again, I find this hard to believe since GPs do not get paid for dishing out specific pills and a corrupt conspiracy like this would be hard to maintain across the thousands of doctors?

Andy, my own Doctor has a desk covered in freebie pens , notepads and general junk from the Drug Co's. He has fever scan strips that he gives out for young children which advertise a popular children's pain syrup. He admits to going on a free mini cruise jolly in return for listening to lectures and slide shows on the latest drugs. He is a good guy. He grabs the goodies and makes up his own mind about all the pills and potions. How many other Doctors aren't so scrupulous in checking?

Beryl, undoubtedly there are doctors who do simply fall for the marketing tricks of pharma companies. But all of them? The majority? You may know Ben Goldacre. He lectures medical students on how to spot the evil tricks of Big Pharma and how they market to them. This is standard practice in medical schools for some time. You will undoubtedly find his new book fascinating. It goes into much detail about how pharmas try to con doctors and in a much more convincing and coherent way than this article.

But do you think free pens are enough to corrupt doctors? It is much more subtle than that and I guess the majority of doctors are far more sophisticated than this article takes them for.

I can't belive the comments on this site from the mis-information that people who have never worked for big Pharma can comment on this garbage. Can anyone see that life let alone meidcations and big Pharma are a double edge blade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everyone knows some one who is living today because Insulins was discovered. and everyone knows someone who died because the General Practitioner was not into his patient and the latient found out to lat that they had a fatal illness!!!!!!!!!! Big Pharma has deep pockets and lots of money but what are the circum strances of the person who died before his time. How involved was the general practitione how soon was the patient referred to someone who cared or who's specialty was needed yesterday??????? It's not a  pen or a cup or any junk piece of advertising that is going to encourage the MDs to perscribe any medication. What is the patients' involvement. Is the patient letting things happen to him/her without know anything about the treatment. Most people are way off base on thier assessment of this situation. Most Drs. are under- involved and prefer it that way because he cansee more patients in one day and make more money. Other Drs. are there because they want to make a difference. What about the patient in all this??? People look at all the circumstance and details before you judge. Type I Diabetics are alive today because Big Pharma found Insulin!!!!!!!!!!! Type II Diabetics are alive today because of diet and medications!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Has anyone found the cure for the common cold??????????????????

If medical methods do not work,after a time,scrap them and try those that do work.

I think you will find that actually happens. Can you think of any alternative medicine that has ever been dropped?

the truth is out there somewhere .--I am sure we all know instances of the ciggaretta companies----oops--sorry-- pharm companies-peddling medications that treatd  symptoms ,reather than the causes-.--just take the good ole Aussies who exposed the stomach ulcer cause some few years ago---to the chagrin or these pharmer /medicrats.