Selling Sickness - An ill for every pill

[Ariella]

[b]Documentary - 42 minutes
CBC Television, Canada, The Nature of Things
September 30 at 7pm EST
October 3 at 3pm EST

Documentary - 52 minutes
SBS Television, Australia, Cutting Edge
October 5 at 8:30pm (not sure what time zone)

Publicity:

CUTTING EDGE:
SELLING SICKNESS

Tuesday October 5
8.30pm

The Cutting Edge documentary Selling Sickness, screening on SBS Television on Tuesday October 5 at 8.30pm, explores the unhealthy relationships between society, medical science and the pharmaceutical industry as they promote their new miracle cures - selling not just drugs but also the latest diseases that go with them. It studies the growing global controversy around SSRI anti-depressants and follows British psychiatrist Dr David Healy, patients and their families as they rock the scientific establishment with accusations that aggressive drug marketing is blurring the boundaries between medical conditions and ordinary life with potentially deadly consequences.

Selling Sickness explores the intensifying conflict over the very nature of illness itself and tracks the sophisticated ways in which pharmaceutical companies market their drugs. In 2002 drug companies spent close to $US3 billion in the United States on direct-to-consumer advertising. One of the world’s leading anti-depressants, Paxil, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), greatly expanded its markets by promoting the drug for a range of new psychiatric conditions. Shyness is thus transformed into “Social Anxiety Disorder” (SAD), constant worry has become “Generalized Anxiety Disorder” (GAD) and premenstrual tension is now “Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder” (PMDD). Throughout the film, drug marketer and industry insider Vince Parry explains the intricacies of how to “brand a condition” or define what an illness is in order to create and expand the market for a drug. There is now an ill for every pill.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of a medical conference, we move along the scientific installations and product display stalls. Company sponsored doctors like Jack Gorman and Murray Stein discuss the latest medical theories and treatments for various anxiety disorders, including SAD. Vince Parry emphasizes the importance of fostering relationships between ‘thought leaders’, doctors and patient groups who advocate on the behalf of consumers in disease awareness campaigns.

Patients Harry and Deb had never heard of social anxiety disorder until they saw the TV ads for Paxil. Deb diagnosed herself with SAD and started taking the drug because she was getting nervous at job interviews. She now joins a great urban flight where hordes of grey-haired citizens from the USA cross the Mexican border to buy more affordable drugs. As Deb walks along a colourful strip of drug stores with Mexican touts spruiking for customers, she explains how she now cannot live without Paxil. Deb and Harry join thousands of patients in a massive nationwide lawsuit against GSK for failing to warn about the harmful potential withdrawal syndrome. Their stories are intercut with Dr David Healy who now travels the world speaking out about the potential risks of these medicines, concerned that a decade of mass marketing has transformed once rare conditions into modern epidemics. Healy is also alarmed about potential links between Paxil, other SSRI medications and suicidal behaviour in a small but growing number of patients, particularly adolescents.

Parents convey the stories of Caitlin and Julie who not long after beginning on their SSRI medications began to display an adverse reaction that resulted in both of them taking their own lives. Caitlin was 12-years-old when she hung herself with her own shoelaces in the school bathroom. Her parents were told that the drugs Paxil and Zoloft were the new wonder drugs - safe and effective. They were never warned that these medications can carry potential danger for some patients. We join Dr Healy, patients and families as they travel to Washington to testify in an official hearing at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where the SSRI anti-depressant drugs are being reviewed for adolescents.

Not long after the FDA Hearing in Washington, the New York Attorney General waged a landmark lawsuit against GSK who stood accused of committing fraud by concealing facts about its popular anti-depressant Paxil. Healy contends that until the raw data from the company-sponsored clinical trials are available to independent public scrutiny, marketing will continue to corrode science.

Selling Sickness is directed by Catherine Scott, and produced by Pat Fiske. It is co-researched and co-written by Ray Moynihan and Catherine Scott. The documentary was produced with the assistance of Film Finance Corporation Australia, the NSW Film and Television Office, France 2 and the Canadian Broadcasting Commission, and commissioned by SBS Independent.


Director's Statement
Making Selling Sickness was a chance to continue to follow some of the basic thematic issues that surfaced in the previous series I directed, Business Behind Bars, which looked at prison privatisation and the global business of incarceration. What happens when governments hand over vital key societal responsibilities to a market-driven industry and how the commercial imperatives of those environments affect our basic human existence? With this documentary we continue to examine the issues of ‘duty of care’ in corporate culture and debate whether businesses, in this case, pharmaceutical companies, should be left to regulate themselves or whether there is a need for better independent oversight and scrutiny of such a powerful industry and the culture they foster.

The documentary focuses on the marketing of psychiatric ‘disorders’ or ‘illnesses’ within the larger context of drug safety and efficacy of the SSRI anti-depressants where the stakes have been raised in real life and death terms. These top selling anti-depressants have made record profits for pharmaceutical companies, increasing the market four-fold in just a decade, but they have also been surrounded by scandal and controversy. During the production of Selling Sickness much drama emerged through consumer actions, lawsuits and medical reviews by various governmental authorities around the world that consequently began to shed more light on the drug giant, GlaxoSmithKline and their blockbuster antidepressant, Paxil. Both of which are at the heart of our story. The timing couldn’t have been better.

Although there are several other areas of medicine where we could have explored the issues of selling sickness, the psychiatric field has been “most ripe for branding a condition” as a drug marketer in the film points out. Because there is no way of physically measuring these illnesses, it has made this an ideal area for industry influence where drug companies “create an idea or own an idea about the condition itself”.

I hope Selling Sickness will play a role in furthering the debate that has emerged and will push it into the public domain. It has been an incredible opportunity to look at one of the most lucrative businesses in the world and one that affects us all; an industry that not only drives drug research and development, but frames the very medical and scientific understanding we have of ourselves.

The production of Selling Sickness brought me together once again with the producer of Business Behind Bars, Pat Fiske. Our first collaboration was a highly successful two-part series that aired on SBS in 2000 and won a Walkley Award in 2001. Business Behind Bars was broadcast in over 12 countries and screened at numerous film festivals internationally. The concept of the Selling Sickness was developed with co-researcher and co-writer, Ray Moynihan. Ray is one of Australia’s top health journalists reporting over several years in TV and print media. He contributes regularly to some of the world’s most prestigious medical journals and is in the process of completing a book also called Selling Sickness that will be published early 2005.

The documentary includes interview footage from yours truly.

So far the show will be aired in Canada and Australia, and I have no idea what the US tv schedule is.

I interviewed for this documentary in January from Ottawa. I drove 6 hours through Canadian blizzards to get there, and had a wonderful time with the production crew. I had plans to have dinner with friends so I couldn't have dinner with with Dr. David Healy, but I left my copy of his book behind for him to autograph.

The director, Cathy, has personally experienced anxiety (which she managed herself) so she had a very strong personal interest in the creation of this documentary. A brilliant woman, she was also very sensitive to how today's problems are mostly because of a trend in all of humanity, to move into a state of individuality awareness. If you look at the 1950s, products weren't marketed to people for 'them' or 'their soul'. They were mostly for solving problems, like dirty floors and unclean teeth. In today's mental health craze, the problems are not measurable (like cavities) and therefore, products have to be marketed as personal / lifestyle / spiritual what have you. This of course, ensnares more people than it helps, since we all feel the pressure to define ourselves in some way through our much clearer sense of individuality. Drugs that apparently solve our whole life purpose in just a few easy control release doses, appeals to the very worst of our insecurities. Naturally, we jump on the chance. Naturally, pharmcos make money off the process.

I have some photos of my time spent with Paradigm Pictures, and will tell you the whole story (including what was happening then at paxilprogress), once the show's running in Canada is done. The documentary is actually 52 minutes, but had to be cut by 10 min for commercials and all that fun stuff. They producer hasn't heard back from CBC if my parts were edited out in the 10 min scrub, but they can't see why/how since there's music and everything in the background and you can't just snip a song mid way hehe.

So I'm nervous. I don't recall how much I stuttered hehe.

URLs:
http://www.cbc.ca/natureofthings/sho...gsickness.html
http://www.sbs.com.au/whatson/index....ate=05:10:2004

[Ariella]

Once I get my own copy, I'll see if I can license some rights to share it as a downloadable video here. Heck, CBC may do it and offer it from their web site.

[dar7726]

I'm so excited Darcy... Go get'em.... The tide is beginning to turn....



Darlene

[mapleleafgirl25]

I cant wait to watch it ..!!!!

Mapleleafgirl25 aka Michele

[rdjanis]

So I'm nervous. I don't recall how much I stuttered hehe.

Darcy, I am sure you did a great job, couldn't think of a better person to do it. I am really excited about this, and looking forward to seeing the documentary!

Rita

[Ariella]

I'll still have to have a two hour seminar to get out most of what I would like to for the world to hear LOL! But this is a good start.

[GerryDaypray]

good work, I'll be sure to pass it along to everyone I know to watch.

[Lilly]

Thats great Darcy, I've been checking in time to time to just hear when this would be aired.

Wanted to tell you I have not been around, because I am feeling the best of have been in years and I am living life to my fullest.

Looking forward to watching it.

Happy Lilly

[Ariella]

Those are the kinds of absences we encourage and try to help people achieve Lilly. Go live passionately!

[scotty]

OK ,all you Canadians, who is going to tape this for us U.S. people here??
Darcy this is great news!! Getting the word out is working. I had a conversation today with a high school counselor that was mind opening(along with Darcy's last e-mail to me). I'm going to start a thread and explain what's been going on later. Just let it be known that Paxil withdrawal is recognized my more people that we thought.

[pippyone]

Just saw the trailer for this after tonights 'The Nature of Things' it said the next episode so I guess one week from tonight at I would imagine 7:00
EST. Will look out for it and try to remember to record it.

[Lilly]

Darcy, thank you, it is so nice and I will tell you all soon.

Scotty, I live in the U.S. and I can get CBC. I am on the border though. Do you have cable? If so you might have it too. Interested in what you have to say and will keep an eye out for it.

Lilly

[elisa]

Thank you so much in notifying us of the program to be broadcast on CBC.

David Suzuki is a great man who has produced excellent shows in the past, so I am sure this one will even be better. Especially that Dr Healy will be on, that tells us something don't you think?

Darcy, I am sure that you will be great in the documentary, your experience on Paxil, this web site with all the posts. You will bring that all with you in the program, I am sure.

Unfortunately, my VCR is broke and don't have a DVD player. It's just built into the computer, so I won't be able to use that one. There goes the copying.......(sigh).

Happy watching everyone!!!

[scotty]

running to see if I get CBC---------Nope

[genevieve]

CBC!!!!!!!!! WOW!!!!! I have this channel!!!!! I am so happy!!! (I have 7 channels at home-no cable)

I like David Suzuki so much! I have read one of his books (the sacred balance, I think that was the title in english....) and being a great nature lover myself I think what he is doing is fantastic.

thanks darcy

[rdjanis]

running to see if I get CBC---------Nope
_________________

I can tape the show for you Laurie.

[Ariella]

My parents will be capturing it too. A prideful move!

[Scott]

if all else fails maybe we can share it like the book club on here if that's possible..that would be just like having all of us over to watch it together so i dont think it violates and copyrights.

[sarah]

Shaney, is there any way us Brits can get to see it, you being the brainy computer type?
Sarah x

[Ariella]

With so many recording it, and me bent on getting it into a downloadable movie, I'm sure you'll get to see it within weeks afterwards Sarah if you can't get to a satelite enabled TV or whatever.

[sarah]

Thanks Darcy. I feel like us Brits miss out on a lot of this stuff that gets on tv or radio or whatever. Look forward to seeing it.
Sarah x

[GerryDaypray]

I will also be recording it as well and can send it to anyone wanting to view it...send me an email with your mailing address and I'll see to it you get a copy.

[Ariella]

I found an internet utitlity that lets you watch TV media from around the world, for $24. CBC Canada is on the programming list, although it's disabled in the free trial demo. I'm tempted to get it since it has tons of C-Span programming as well.

Anyway, if you'd like a live TV watching experience, this is one terrific solution:

MacOS (iTube)
http://www.eastbaytech.com/mac/itube.htm

Windows(CTube)
http://www.eastbaytech.com/ctube.htm

Not all streams are at or below 56kbaud, so a high speed connection is probably better suited for this sort of thing.

[Ariella]

Promotional image for the Australia broadcast: