Drugs/Medical Archive

Camel Orbs Inspiration for Alchomints (Why not?)

April 20th, 2010. By AbiK

Haven’t sent in the patent app yet, but thinking the tagline—or at least the initial advertising—will include the line, “Get Mintoxicated.” See, I’m putting together a marketing proposal for these little mints (Alchomints!)—each one will pack a punch that’s equivalent to slinging back a mug of beer; that is, about 4-5% alcohol (by volume, based on an average sized mug—the ramped up “Hofbrauhaus High” would launch later as a line extension).

The target audience for Alchomints is anyone who’s come up against those inconvenient “no drinking in public” laws. The brown bag conspicuously twisted and crinkled around the neck of a tall boy just ain’t cuttin’ it and, let’s face it, you look like a total lush gripping your keychain opener as you bolt out of the packaged goods store. Wouldn’t you rather pop a little mint? All the buzz…none of the belch, breath or belly. It’s a sure hit. 

Go ahead and scoff. Call me a moron. Tell me the name “Alchomints” sounds too similar to “Altoids”. Rip me a new one about what would happen if my mints got into the wrong hands.

And let me then remind you of a product launch that started to roll out recently: Camel Orbs.

And just what are Camel Orbs? Well, much like my Alchomints, they’re little pellets that you can pop in your mouth like mints. But, they’re actually made from finely ground tobacco. And they reportedly carry 1 milligram of nicotine per Orb. That’s apparently the amount of nicotine a smoker gets from one cigarette.

Why would someone want to use Camel Orbs? Well, like my Alchomints, maybe someone’s in need of a little nicotine fix when they’re someplace where smoking is a no-no. (Maybe even someone sitting in third period Biology! Ponder that one for a moment…)

And, gee, doesn’t “Orbs” sound like some other innocuous checkout aisle candy or gum—say, like Orbit gum?

Hmm. I wonder if those Camel Orbs could get into the wrong hands, too?

Now, to be fair, as Camel was launching their Orbs in test markets, there was a lot of flak being written in protest. Rightly so. After all, seems pretty clear that something that looks like candy could be mistaken for, well, candy! Particularly by the younger set.

And now, just this week, we hear about a study done by the Harvard School of Public Health Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Camel Orbs, CDC, Harvard, Nicotine, Smokeless Tobacco, tobacco
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | No Comments »

Antidepressants: Know What They’re Winding You Up With

April 16th, 2010. By Kristine B

C’mon. You know you’ve seen that Pristiq ad once or twice—the one with that little wind-up doll (yes, the one with the circa-1970’s get-up that would drive any of us into a state of mild depression)—and you’ve thought to yourself, “Gee, I’ve had days when I kind of felt that way”. Admit it folks, you’ve been there—maybe not in mauve polyester, but you’ve been there.

Now, you may or may not have taken that thought to the next level: the “I need help” level. Most of us don’t. But if you have, you’ve most likely “talked to your doctor” as only “he can determine whether [fill in anti-depressant drug name here] is right for you”.

And if you’ve left your doctor’s office with a little slip of paper to be dropped off at the pharmacy, you may have been prescribed an SSRI, SNRI, NDRI or MAOI. Perhaps you’re feeling high as a kite on the hopes that you’ll be giddier than a glee club as soon as you get that scrip filled. But, take pause. For while you fantasize about your future mental state, do you really know what you’ve just been given?

What follows is a mini primer to the world of anti-depressants—and, as this is a legal news site, the links provided will lead you to information on safety concerns and some of the resulting litigation that’s gone on.

There are actually many different types of antidepressants. Not just the brand names, but the actual types of drugs themselves that work on different chemicals in the brain. Generally, antidepressants aim to reverse depressive symptoms and stabilize mood by increasing the amounts of certain chemicals that are found in the brain. The type of antidepressant depends on the chemicals being affected. 

Depression 

Although there is no one answer to the question, “What causes depression?” scientists believe that chemicals in the brain play a role in some forms of depression. The brain has several hundred types of chemical messengers—also called neurotransmitters—that send messages between brain cells. Of these, three neurotransmitters specifically are targeted by the various antidepressants, to different degrees. 

Serotonin is thought to play a role in controlling anxiety, mood, sleep, sexuality and appetite. 

Norepinephrine is thought to play a role in sleep and alertness and is also thought to play Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressant, Celexa, Cymbalta, Effexor, Lexapro, MAOI, NDRI, paxil, paxil-heart-defects-newborn, Pristiq, Prozac, SNRI, SSRI, Wellbutrin, Zoloft
Posted in Drugs/Medical, Emerging Issues | 3 Comments »

Pfizer’s Secret Friend

April 9th, 2010. By Hunter West

Mom and Dad told us not to be ‘too big for your britches.’ However in the Land of Big Pharma, that basic chestnut of moral integrity need not apply… 

Remember the debacle over Bextra? Pfizer was found to have actively marketed the drug for off-label use, for things not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and was called to the carpet over it, paying about $2 billion in penalties. 

However, it could have been a lot worse, according to a special investigation by CNN that found Pfizer escaped the expected death knell in such cases by being permanently excluded from Medicare and Medicaid. 

Most know the story of Bextra, the Cox-2 inhibitor that Pfizer brought to the painkiller market in 2001 with big plans. Cox-2 inhibitors were thought to be safer than generic drugs.

Also more expensive, coming in at 20 times the cost of ibuprofen. 

Nonetheless, the plan was to market Bextra for acute pain, such as that experienced by patients following surgery. 

Enter the FDA, which put a noose around Pfizer’s neck when it decreed that Bextra was not safe for patients at high risk for heart attack and stroke. Thus the approval was limited to pain treatment related to arthritis and menstrual cramps. 

Undaunted, the marketing and sales arms of Pfizer—allegedly without knowledge of top executives—set to work circumventing that regulatory authority by promoting its use off-label to anesthesiologists, orthopedic surgeons, “anyone that use[d] a scalpel for a living,” according to the words of one district manager. 

There were other lapses in marketing judgment that flew in the face of regulatory decorum. In the end, by the time Bextra was Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Bextra, FDA, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Upjohn
Posted in Drugs/Medical | No Comments »

Jelly Belly French Vanilla – the New SSRI?

April 7th, 2010. By AbiK

I just took the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS or HAM-D) test. Yes, I administered it to myself, which is not really legit. And I was popping jelly beans (full disclosure: Jelly Belly original mix that wasn’t comped) in my mouth while clicking thru the answers. I scored a three. Which, apparently is within the “normal” range—or as I’m made aware of by my test source (Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry) “in clinical remission” had I been previously and officially depressed. For comparison, a score of 8-13 is “mild depression”; 14-18 is “moderate depression”; 19-22 is “severe depression” and a score of 23 or more is “very severe depression”.

Did I mention I was popping jelly beans? aka mommy’s little sugar pills?

So who knows—maybe I was just on a sugar rush and otherwise would’ve scored a four. Be that as it may, it got me thinking.

See, I took the test—and popped the J-beans—while reading an article, “The Serotonin Skeptic” by Carlin Flora Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Antidepressants, Irving Kirsch, SSRI, SSRIs
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 1 Comment »

Enough with the Breastfeeding Bandwagon

April 6th, 2010. By AbiK

A news article in today’s NY Daily News has this for a headline:

“Breastfeeding could save many babies’ lives, billions of dollars: Pediatrics Journal”

Fine. Those of us who’ve been pregnant at some point in the last few decades would need to have lived in a cave on Mars to have missed the “Breastfeeding is good for your baby!” memo.

And so, yes, here we have another study that’s been done to tout breast milk.

Translation: another study to lend more ammunition to those who would like to see formula feeding labeled as a punishable crime.

I stress here that I agree that breast-feeding is beneficial to babies—I don’t argue that.

But as I had posted about breastfeeding and Reglan, it’s the guilt-trip that those who deem themselves as the arbiters of baby’s health and well-being impose upon moms-to-be and moms who are just hours post-delivery.

This barrage of breast milk goodliness, while well-intentioned, sends mothers—many of whom simply cannot breast feed when left to their own bodily devices—into a state of panic: I’m not lactating…am I producing enough?…how do I know if baby is getting enough nutrition?…

And they turn to drugs—like off-label Reglan—and homeopathy, massage techniques, pumps—you name it Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Breastfeeding, Reglan, Tardive Dyskinesia
Posted in Drugs/Medical | 2 Comments »