April 21, 2008.
Captain Pill Comes Back to His Home Port

I wrote before about the image of myself as Captain Pill on the High Seas of Pharmaceuticals
but tonight I came back to the home port and checked in with the crew about the status of our
overseas adventures, namely first mate and skipper Dylan Bremner (age 10) and Sabina Vaccarino Bremner (age 16).

Dylan reported that he had taken the flyer for my book to his school
(Paideia, in Atlanta) and had tried to convince his classmates that they should buy my book.
When his classmates asked why they should buy a book about pharmaceuticals when they didn't
take them, he replied that they should buy them for their parents.

"Do you talk about the side effects of drugs?" he asked me.

"Yes I do," I responded.

"Wow, this is a really useful book!" he exclaimed.

We did make one book sale, eventually, to the mother of his best friend Evan (Cindy Messina). Thanks guys!

Back at the home base over dinner, we had a discussion about Dylan's foray into the marketing world.

Here is a transcript of the dialogue (also useful for Mom, who is out of town now).

Dylan: One of my classmates said that his father owned a drug company. He asked
if you were against his drug company.

Dad: I am not against his drug company. I don't even know what his drug company is.
I am just trying to provide a complete picture of the risks and benefits of prescription drugs.

Sabina: But you are against the drug companies.

Dad: No I'm not. The job of drug companies is to sell drugs. And they do a
very good job of that. I am just trying to provide a more comprehensive picture of things.

Sabina: But you are against the drug companies.

Dad: If you say you are against something people will stop listening to you. What if someone
told you they were against doctors? Since your dad is a doctor and his income is based on
that you would stop listening to them. I would rather have a dialogue with people.

At that point my crew lost interest (sigh). Oh well.



My book 'Before You Take That Pill: Why the Drug Industry May be Bad for Your Health:
Risks and Side Effects You Won't Find on the Label of Commonly Prescribed Drugs, Vitamins, and Supplements'
is now available at amazon and at local Borders and Barnes and Noble book stores.

Doug Bremner, MD, is a physician and researcher in Atlanta GA
and author of Before You Take That Pill:
Why the Drug Industry May be
Bad for Your Health: Risks and Side Effects
You Won't Find on the Label of Commonly Prescribed
Drugs, Vitamins and Supplements




You are visitor number