October 12, 2007. 3:07 p.m.
I am Having Trouble Dealing with Reality.
This week I discussed the HPV vaccine Gardasil and
a new study of the long-term effects of the statin Pravachol on this site
as well as make some posts on the topics of Gardasil and
Pravachol under related stories by Ed Silverman at pharmalot.com. This
got a response from John Mack, author of the Pharma Marketing Blog, who said I was
"Obviously biased against the pharmaceutical industry" but went on to
highlight the little gem I found (increased prostate cancer) which was
overlooked in the story by AP who said it was "safe".
I then got into an extended back and forth debate in the comments
section of pharmalot.com with someone named Reality about my critiques of
the risks of Gardasil and statins.
These exchanges caused me to spend some time in self-reflection
(don't panic, I'm a psychiatrist, I can fix myself if something goes wrong).
Did the back in forth with Reality mean that I was in conflict with Reality?
Or that I am even in denial of Reality? I reflected on the admonitions
of my agent, Susan Arellano, and the writer Karen Kelly and
editors from Avery/Penguin who have worked with me, to have a neutral and balanced tone.
After my period of self-reflection (no side effects or adverse events, don't worry)
my conclusion was that anything that deviated from an industry supported
press release could be seen as "biased" by those who authored the
original press releases. But that doesn't mean that those comments
should not be heard. I also discovered in my self-reflection that I got a kick out of getting responses
from pharma blogger (yes I will do a podcast with you) and Reality, and the fact that my brother
made a post on pharmalot.com about a Bill Maher segment right after
I did.
To subscribe to this blog email
info@beforeyoutakethatpill.com with subject line "subscribe"
and add this email address to your
address book (otherwise it will get spammed).
to unsubscribe do the same with subject line "unsubscribe".
