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Ben Goldacre was on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning discussing his book with a representative of the pharma industry. Platitudinous and evasive

by oracuk 14y ago

Ben Goldacre was on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 this morning discussing his book with a representative of the pharma industry. Platitudinous and evasive answers from the industry rep while referring to Goldacre's 'extremist' views. He's hit a nerve and they don't appear to have a good rebuttal. For those with iPlayer access you can here it again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mw2d4 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01mw2d4 Edit: Ben Goldacre piece was at 08:34. Excerpt of just that section is here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9754000/9754505.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_9754000/9754505....

rwmj 14y ago
Also a good overview and introduction in the Graun a few days ago: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/21/drugs-industry-scandal-ben-goldacre http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/21/drugs-industr...
sjmulder 14y ago
Note that iPlayer for radio is available outside the UK as well.
yen223 14y ago
It's interesting that once upon a time, he was being called a shill for big Pharma, thanks to his anti-quackery (read: anti-homeopathy) stance.
- ZoFreX 14y ago
  Which is hilarious, because "big pharma" own the big "alternative" "medicine" companies too - it's a multi-billion dollar business, of course they want a slice of that pie!
  - Joeboy 14y ago
    I didn't know that. Is there something I can read that'll back it up?
    - ZoFreX 14y ago
      I can't recommend any text on the subject more highly than "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre. It covers a lot more topics than just this, but it still covers the basics very well and I believe it has references for its claims (it has been a while since I read it and I don't have a copy to hand to check).
      - stordoff 14y ago
        In the ePub version I have (from the iTunes store), there are a decent number of references in the back of the book, as well as some pointers to further reading. I would assume they are also contained in the print version.
        shrikant 14y ago
        Yeah, I have a copy of the print version (not at hand though..) and I can confirm this. The last few pages have a large number of references in them, and made me think for a few seconds that the book was longer than it actually was :)
    - illuminate 14y ago
      I'm not entirely sure that's correct, but you're still talking about a multibillion dollar industry ("big nutri") claiming oppression whenever they're expected to show objective results.
- DanBC 14y ago
  Also confusing because of his work with CBT and other talking therapies, which help reduce the use of medication.

by oracuk 14y ago

rwmj 14y ago

Also a good overview and introduction in the Graun a few days ago: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/21/drugs-industry-scandal-ben-goldacre http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/sep/21/drugs-industr...

sjmulder 14y ago

Note that iPlayer for radio is available outside the UK as well.

yen223 14y ago

It's interesting that once upon a time, he was being called a shill for big Pharma, thanks to his anti-quackery (read: anti-homeopathy) stance.

ZoFreX 14y ago
Which is hilarious, because "big pharma" own the big "alternative" "medicine" companies too - it's a multi-billion dollar business, of course they want a slice of that pie!
- Joeboy 14y ago
  I didn't know that. Is there something I can read that'll back it up?
  - ZoFreX 14y ago
    I can't recommend any text on the subject more highly than "Bad Science" by Ben Goldacre. It covers a lot more topics than just this, but it still covers the basics very well and I believe it has references for its claims (it has been a while since I read it and I don't have a copy to hand to check).
    - stordoff 14y ago
      In the ePub version I have (from the iTunes store), there are a decent number of references in the back of the book, as well as some pointers to further reading. I would assume they are also contained in the print version.
      - shrikant 14y ago
        Yeah, I have a copy of the print version (not at hand though..) and I can confirm this. The last few pages have a large number of references in them, and made me think for a few seconds that the book was longer than it actually was :)
  - illuminate 14y ago
    I'm not entirely sure that's correct, but you're still talking about a multibillion dollar industry ("big nutri") claiming oppression whenever they're expected to show objective results.
DanBC 14y ago
Also confusing because of his work with CBT and other talking therapies, which help reduce the use of medication.