Recent scandals involving diabetes drugs, Vioxx, and many other medications reveal the most serious and undisclosed risks of some of the most commonly used prescription drugs in the world. In BEFORE YOU TAKE THAT PILL, the author, a researcher and clinician at Emory University whose study on Accutane and depression made headlines, offers an inside look at the pharmaceutical industry, as well as a scientifically backed assessment of the risks of more than three hundred prescribed medications, vitamins and supplements. While many drugs are essential to the health of consumers, the benefits may not outweigh the potential side effects and this book contains warnings that are not on the drug labels. It also exposes tricks of the trade that demonstrate how the profit-making interests of the big pharmaceutical companies may not always be in line with the safety of the public - from the corruption that exists in the drug approval process to the tactics drug companies use to encourage doctors to prescribe their products.
Most importantly, the book aims to empower readers by giving them sound information on specific medications so they can understand and weigh the potential risk themselves. Backed by the latest studies, as well as insight from a doctor who is in the front line, this book should be on the shelf of every drug consumer.