two excellent anti-pharma screenings this week

[angela bischoff]

Both screenings are at the Brunswick Theatre
296 Brunswick Ave, 2nd floor (at Bloor)


1. BIG BUCKS BIG PHARMA with guest speaker Dr. Nancy Olivieri

Monday October 29th, 8pm

In 1995, Dr. Nancy Olivieri came to believe, based on scientifically
credible preliminary evidence, that a drug used in a clinical trial she
had supervised since 1989, might be less effective than previously
believed, resulting in potential harm to children for whom another safe
drug was already licensed.  When Dr.  Olivieri wished to disclose these
concerns, she was threatened with "all legal remedies", but despite these
warnings, fulfilled all ethical obligations.  Dr. Olivieri's institutions,
The  Hospital for Sick Children and the University of Toronto, did not
provide effective support either for her rights, or the principles of
research and clinical ethics or academic freedom.  After the  controversy
became public, the University claimed publicly that it had effectively
supported Dr. Olivieri, but this was not true.  Both the University and
Sick Kids' Hospital took actions that were  harmful to Dr. Olivieri's
interests and professional reputation and disrupted her work.  After
enduring years of public harassment, Dr. Olivieri was exonerated of all
false charges by the Royal Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons, the
provincial licensing body for physicians, which described her conduct in
its 2001 Report as "commendable."

Big Bucks, Big Pharma pulls back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar
pharmaceutical industry to expose the insidious ways that illness is used,
manipulated, and in some instances created, for capital gain. Focusing on
the industry's marketing practices, media scholars and health
professionals help viewers understand the ways in which direct-to-consumer
(DTC) pharmaceutical advertising glamorizes and normalizes the use of
prescription medication, and works in tandem with promotion to doctors.
Combined, these industry practices shape how both patients and doctors
understand and relate to disease and treatment. Ultimately, Big Bucks, Big
Pharma challenges us to ask important questions about the consequences of
relying on a for-profit industry for our health and well-being.



2.  WE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU
<http://www.sickpills.com>http://www.sickpills.com

Thur. Nov. 1 - 9 p.m. and
Fri. Nov. 2 - 7 p.m.

Useless or killer drugs, greed, corruption, million-dollar payouts,
blackmailing -- in a dramatic Enron-esque expose' of the healthcare
industry.

While uncovering every aspect of the Vioxx disaster and other prescription
drug tragedies, this documentary exposes the dark corners of the
pharmaceutical industry. We'll see how North Americans die from side
effects of drugs we don't need while companies rake in billions. Everyone
taking prescription drugs will be deeply and forever touched by this
documentary.



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