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.
Featuring interviews with Dr. Marcia Angell (Dept. of Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Former Editor,
New England Journal of Medicine), Dr. Bob Goodman (Columbia University Medical Center; Founder, No Free Lunch), Gene Carbona (Former Pharmaceutical Industry Insider and Current Executive Director of Sales,
The Medical Letter), Katharine Greider (Journalist; Author,
The Big Fix: How the Pharmaceutical Industry Rips Off American Consumers), Dr. Elizabeth Preston (Dept. of Communication, Westfield State College), and Dr. Larry Sasich (Public Citizen Health Research Group).
Sections: Introduction | Branding Drugs | Swimming in Pills | Disease Mongering | No Free Lunch | A Healthier Prescription
Duration: 46 Mins
ISBN: 1-932869-05-0
Date Produced: 2006
Subtitles: English
Discussion Guide
Transcript
Filmmaker Info
Producer & Editor: Ronit Ridberg
Writers: Ronit Ridberg, Loretta Alper, Jeremy Earp & Sut Jhally
Executive Producer: Sut Jhally
Associate Producers: Loretta Alper & Jeremy Earp
Narrator: Amy Goodman
Film Festivals
Official Selection, 2008 Catalysts for Change Film Festival
Official Selection, 2006 Rencontres internationales du documentaire de Montreal
Related Links
No Free Lunch: A non-profit organization whose mission is to encourage health care providers to practice medicine on the basis of scientific evidence rather than on the basis of pharmaceutical promotion.
Public Citizen Health Resource Group: Promotes research-based, system-wide changes in health care policy and provides oversight concerning drugs, medical devices, doctors and hospitals and occupational health.
Consumers International: An independent non-profit organization that works for consumer rights and to hold corporations accountable, specifically in the areas of climate change, unethical drug promotion, sustainable coffee, and consumer protection.
Worst Pills, Best Pills: A searchable, online drug database that provides comprehensive information about 538 prescription drugs and warns of 181 drugs that are unsafe or ineffective. A project of Public Citizen HRG.
The Medical Letter on Drugs and Therapeutics: An independent, peer-reviewed, nonprofit publication that offers unbiased critical evaluations of drugs, with special emphasis on new drugs, to physicians and other members of the health professions.
American Medical Student Association (AMSA) PharmFree Campaign: Aiming to revitalize professionalism in medical education, AMSA teaches medical students about the ethics of drug company interaction with health professionals and encourages them to make the rational, informed decision to eschew "free" gifts from the pharmaceutical industry.
Community Catalyst: A leader in building broad collaborations around state and national prescription drug issues, they are committed to reforming prescription drug policies and practices to ensure consumers have access to safe, affordable and appropriate drugs.
