HAPPY NEW YEAR

HAPPY NEW YEAR.

MAY 2010 BRING YOU ALL PEACE AND HAPPINESS.


Fid


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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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The Evidence, However, Is Clear...The Seroxat Scandal

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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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More Advertising Woes for GlaxoSmithKline

Image: aboutus.org


If the latest news regarding GlaxoSmithKline's false claims with advertisements wasn't enough to shake your head in disbelief then this latest should leave you scratching the scalp on your bonce!

James Williams, who writes for the Atlanta Wellness Examiner, has recently told of his journey into the world of GSK marketing where he stumbled upon a GSK advertisement on a children's gaming site!

Williams writes:

"My friends' son, who is eight, was playing an online game yesterday. It was a harmless activity where he had to breakup icebergs to save the crew members on a stranded ship.

While he was waiting for the game to load, I noticed that an advert appeared in the gaming window. It was on the screen for precisely 10 seconds before the game started.

The wording on the advert read: This time, talk to your doctor about VESIcare. This medication, produced by GlaxoSmithKline, relates to blocking the symptoms of urinary leakage."

I've viewed the website in question, nitrome.com, and it is most definitely aimed at young children, its background being a mish-mash of cartoon images set against a Christmas type scene, normally reserved for kids advent calendars.

Last year I reported that Lola's Land, a UK children's website, were promoting Glaxo's Cervarix. Strangely, Lola's Land has now been removed as has the promotion for GSK's Cervarix. Slogans that ran on Lola's Land included; “Remember chica, this is a totally life-saving, revolutionary vaccine!” and “Let’s fight cervical cancer together and arm ourselves against it!”

It does seem rather odd that this website has now been removed, don't you think?

Lola's Land was registered to Freida A Tallon, the contact address for Freida being none other than British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. Now why would a TV Company promote a pharmaceutical product?

Here is how Lola's Land promoted Glaxo's "totally life-saving, revolutionary vaccine!"


CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE GOOGLE CACHE OF PAGE

So, it would appear that GlaxoSmithKline struck a deal up with the UK government and British Sky Broadcasting, a deal that, at the time, told the young readers of Lola's Land, how dangerous Cervical cancer was and how they need not worry as a "totally life-saving, revolutionary vaccine!" was just around the corner to help them.

With this in mind, I have wrote to the registrant of Lola's Land, an address that has a bskyb domain.

Dear Freida,

Researching GlaxoSmithKline's Cervarix vaccine I stumbled upon your name as the registrant of Lola's Land - I had previously wrote about Lola's Land on my blog here - http://fiddaman.blogspot.com/2008/09/lolas-land-promoting-hpv-vaccine.html

I notice that Lola's Land has now been taken down. Could you tell me why please?

Could you also tell me why British Sky Broadcasting were behind such an advertising venture?

Many thanks

Bob Fiddaman
---

Author of Seroxat Sufferers
http://fiddaman.blogspot.com


I will of course let you all know should I receive a response from Freida Tallon.


Fid

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Glaxo asked to remove advertisement!

The Indian drug regulator, the Drug Controller General of India [DCGI] has asked GlaxoSmithKline to withdraw its promotional advertisement for Cervarix with immediate effect.

The ad claims that Cervarix can prevent cervical cancer but the DCGI blame the advertisement for oversimplifying the complexity of cervical cancer thus misleading the consumers. According to them it does not provide relevant information for helping consumers to make an informed decision, including the fact that it violates Rule 106 and Schedule J of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 under which no cancer prevention claim can be made.[1]

The Act states that "no drug may purport or claim to prevent or cure or may convey to the intending user thereof any idea that it may prevent or cure one or more of the diseases or ailments..."

The Act also states that before launching any campaign, prior permission of the government is needed.

However, GSK has not taken any such permission.

More can be read HERE


[1] Rumpus About Cancer Vaccine Advertisement

Fid

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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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PAXIL [SEROXAT] MARKETING

What GlaxoSmithKline tell you...

PAXIL TV AD 2000




What GlaxoSmithKline's consumers tell you...

TAPERING OFF PAXIL




What GlaxoSmithKline tell you...

PAXIL TV AD 2002




What GlaxoSmithKline's consumers tell you...

TAPERING OFF PAXIL METHOD




What GlaxoSmithKline tell you...

PAXIL CR AD 2003





What GlaxoSmithKline's consumers and the media tell you...

PAXIL ADDICTION STORY




SEE: 15 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR DOCTOR


Fid

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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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TOPSY TURVY CHRISTMAS

It's Christmas time again

The snow is falling down.

Its flakes are made of sugar

And are coloured chocolate brown.

There's snowmen without hats on

Dogs with ten foot tails

And Santa's sleigh with bells on

Is pulled by killer whales.

Christmas trees lean sideways

And monkey's live within.

They swing from branch to branch

And they make an awful din.

Holly is not prickly,

Bells don't make a sound.

Baubles on the Christmas trees

Are triangular, not round.

There's turkey's playing football

Against the three wise men.

They play with rolled-up stuffing

And the referee's a hen.

Cats sing Christmas carols,

Toys all come alive.

Action men have dresses

While Barbie scuba-dives.

There's gravy over puddings

And peas are filled with cream.

In my topsy-turvy Christmas,

My topsy-turvy dream.

© BOB FIDDAMAN

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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY READERS

May you get everything you wish for.

Thanks for stopping by this past year.

Keep warm, stay safe and don't drink too much.

Fid

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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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Miserable Christmas For Wonderful Advocate

I was alerted to a recent post by Phil Dawdy over at Furious Seasons this morning. He writes about Steph, who writes the hugely popular Soulful Selpulcher blog.

For the last three years Steph has been battling against the Washington State Mental Health System.

Personally, I find the ruling absurd. Steph's daughter, Lindsey, was found NOT to be a danger to her self or others. Perversely, she was found to be at danger from society as she often wanders off.

It would appear that the Washington State Mental Health System have failed Lindsey here. Nobody knows their own child like their mother. Linds, as Steph likes to call her, has been diagnosed with apparent schizophrenia - Steph believes her daughter has autism.

Phil Dawdy goes into more detail and briefly touches on the history of Western State Hospital, the place where Linds has been ordered to.

As for Steph, she will visit her daughter tomorrow, knowing that she will have to leave at some point because of some perverse ruling by an even more perverse mental health system.

My heart goes out to Steph. She has supported the work of many bloggers over the years I have known her. She always has time to read about other advocay work, despite her own struggles.

Steph, this blog salutes you and hopes the Washington State Mental Health System will see sense and allow a loving mother to look after her child, I also hope the ruling made by the King County Superior Court can be overturned and common sense can prevail.

I urge those of you reading this to head on over to Steph's blog to offer your support. She's a true gem with a heart of gold.


Fid

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'THE EVIDENCE, HOWEVER, IS CLEAR...THE SEROXAT SCANDAL' By Bob Fiddaman
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Balancing act: Moms-to-be weigh risks, benefits of antidepressants

Image: www.ecobiz.ie

Source: WCFCOURIER.COM

Good friend of mine and fellow advocate Julie Edgington has recently been interviewed by the WCF Courier.

They write:

In 2003, Julie Edgington was among the roughly 13 percent of expectant U.S. women to take an antidepressant during pregnancy. The Waterloo woman started a Paxil regimen a few weeks before she became pregnant with her son, Manie.

"I really didn't feel right about taking it because with all my other children I never took anything - I was even careful with Tylenol," said the mother of five. "I was completely off it by the end of the third month of my pregnancy, but by that time it was too late."

Manie was born with his aorta and pulmonary arteries switched. At just 8 days old he underwent open-heart surgery. Manie will have to repeat the procedure when he is 17 and requires continued care. Edgington and her husband, Russell McNamee, along with several other families across the country, have a lawsuit pending against GlaxoSmithKline, which manufactures Paxil.

Today, Edgington blogs about her experiences. Although Manie's case is rare, she warns other moms that - in her opinion - antidepressant use during pregnancy is too big of a risk.

"What benefits could be great enough to put your child through a lifelong battle with their health?" she asked. "I'm not a doctor, but I would definitely tell someone to try some other type of therapy before taking anything. It's not worth it."


Julie's blog, Birth Defects Caused by Antidepressant, can be viewed HERE

Her son, Manie, is a little diamond and a constant reminder of how difficult it is for expectant mothers to weigh up the benefits v risks when trying to make an informed decision of whether to take Paxil [Seroxat] A decision that cannot be easily made without knowing the full facts - facts kept from doctor's and patients with regard to Paxil [Seroxat] being a teratogen.

Manie Rocks!

Fid

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Christmas comes early for 3,700 US doctors on GlaxoSmithKline's payroll

Image: versacreations.net

Interesting post from the author of Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial, Alison Bass, on her blog.

Alison writes:

"GlaxoSmithKline became the third pharmaceutical giant to start disclosing all the speaking and consulting payments it makes to US doctors, and its list is an eye-popping illustration of the rampant corruption that runs through our current system of medical research."

She adds:

"Surprise, surprise, one of the drugs given an enthusiastic thumb's up in this review is Xyzal, an antihistamine made by GlaxoSmithKline."

You can read more HERE

Also, you may want to check out her book. If you get a book token as a Christmas present Side Effects: A Prosecutor, a Whistleblower, and a Bestselling Antidepressant on Trial comes highly recommended.

Fid

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15 Questions To Ask Your Doctor

Image: maaadddog.files.wordpress.com



Myself and Janice Simmons, co-ordinator of the Seroxat User Group, have compiled a list of questions for UK readers of this blog to print off and to ask their doctors.

Personally, I believe we will never get help from the UK Medicines regulator [MHRA] nor the UK government regarding the safety of Seroxat and other SSRi's.

I also believe that it is the patient who has to educate the doctor because too many of them have been indoctrinated by ghost-written papers in medical journals and the hard sell of pharmaceutical reps.

This questionnaire, depending on the answers given to you by your doctor, should highlight the failings of the MHRA. Their 'don't give a damn' attitude is staggering as is their ignorance at accepting that there is a major problem with this particular class of drugs.

While pharmaceutical companies like GlaxoSmithKline continue to make out of court settlements to people who have complained that Seroxat has caused heart defects, suicide and withdrawal problems, the MHRA will bury their heads in the sand. The undeniable proof that is kept hidden from the public in sealed files suits both pharma and the MHRA. If there is no admittance then there is no problem.

Doctors need to be made aware of the truth - the MHRA have been made aware but continue to hold hands with their paymasters.

The safety of patients should be paramount and not the protection of pharmaceutical products and their reputations.

'15 Questions To Ask Your Doctor' are questions we should all be asking. There should be no problem asking these questions - even GlaxoSmithKline told me to ask my doctor if Seroxat was a teratogen - they refused to answer it themselves. The MHRA, as is the norm, sat on the fence with a limp-wristed and cowardly answer.

The MHRA are well aware that patients are struggling with Seroxat and other SSRi's. Listening to patient stories is simply not good enough. They have to act and the only way to get them to act is to highlight their failings.

There is a printible PDF for you to download. Ask your doctor, don't be afraid to ask questions regarding these drugs - any patient information leaflet will direct you to 'ask your doctor' if you have a problem with the drugs. Way I see it is their is a problem with doctor's not knowing the full facts because the UK medicines regulator are stuck in an outdated system of regulatory madness that protects the product and its manufacturer and NOT the patient.

For ease you can cut and paste the questions into your own word document.

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**EXCLUSIVE VIDEO: LAWYERS DISCUSS THE RECENT GLAXO V KILKER CASE

This is pretty riveting stuff - I only wish they could do this on national TV with an audience and I do hope that one day GlaxoSmithKline actually go the distance with an appeal and lose... instead of settling the case.

There are an awful amount of Internal documents from the Kilker case that have been sealed, they will remain sealed if Glaxo settle the appeal - which, they probably will.

Personally, I think this is appalling behaviour by GlaxoSmithKline. Lyam Kilker was born with heart defects [3 different heart defects as it happens] - A jury found GlaxoSmithKline's Paxil [Seroxat] to be the causation of his heart defects. Glaxo appeal the decision - yet settle other 'birth defect cases'. Meantime, the family of Lyam Kilker are plunged into another long wait which, I think, will result in an out of court settlement some time down the line.

It's one thing to manufacture a drug that harms a child, but to then punish the family and child because they won at trial is pretty despicable even by GlaxoSmithKline's standards.

Everyone, even GSK, have a right to appeal but we all know what the outcome of this tragic case is going to be - Glaxo will settle, they cannot afford for the sealed documents to be made public property.

My heart goes out to Lyam Kilker and his loving family. All his mother is guilty of is taken Paxil for what can only be deemed as mild depression. She never knew the damage it could cause her fetus because GlaxoSmithKline never told her... more importantly, they never told her doctor.

The case of Lyam Kilker was a 'test' case - basically Glaxo dipping their toes in the water to see how hot it is. It appears their toes were scolded.

Expect settlements with the other 630 birth defect cases they dispute.

Did they know of the dangers of pregnant women taking Paxil?

Watch the video.

The first 30 seconds is audio only, while the team prepare to go on air. The video is uncut and exclusive to Seroxat Sufferers blog.




Special thanks to the production team at Law Journal TV for passing this on to me and granting me permission to use on Seroxat Sufferers.

After watching the video, take a look at the files that have been made public from the recent Kilker v GSK trial, including a testimony from Ex-GSK executive Jane Nieman which was pretty damning for GlaxoSmithKline.

**Footnote

The MHRA have access to the documents. They refuse to act on them. A strong message of support for GlaxoSmithKline it would appear.

Fid

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