We are enjoyed co-sponsor and also go to the February 20-22, 2013 Selling Sickness meeting in Washington DC, a consumer-oriented initial of its kind grassroots seminar in the United States concentrating on disease-mongering, or as meeting co-organizer Kim Witczak places it, “just how the pharmaceutical industry heavily influences the clinical field by pushing the limits that define disease in order to sell their therapies.” The Selling Sickness meeting will certainly bring over 200 participants from the US and around the globe– consisting of consumer advocates, academicians, and also journalists– to satisfy and share ideas on topics such as misleading drug firm advertising and marketing; medical over-treatment; conflicts of rate of interest in medication; and medical gadget safety and security. Our Safe Client Project team will be bringing a tiny team of individual security advocates to the meeting as well as Consumers Union is getting the word bent on individuals we know in the area. Individuals prior to earnings!
- Kim Witczak 2012 SPP top
- Kim at CU’s 2012 Safe Person Top
Kim has worked with Consumers Union for many years on enhancing medication safety and security, including in her house state of Minnesota, a state where many pharmaceutical companies are performing business. In 2014 she worked with us on clinical tool security, as well as her experience helped people that were more recent to lobbying Congress on client safety and security problems. Like a lot of the supporters we deal with, Kim came to be active due to an individual misfortune as well as wishing to save various other people from having the exact same misfortune. Nearly ten years back, Kim’s husband Woody, took his very own life after taking an antidepressent medication for 5 weeks. He had no background of mental illness or depression; his doctor offered him a 3 week example of the medicine for “sleeplessness.” You can check out Woody’s story on Kim’s site woodymatters below. Kim has done a whole lot to get the word out regarding Selling Illness. If you’re in the DC location or can make a trip to DC, this seminar will certainly be well worth it!
I bear in mind the first time Kim told me regarding arranging Marketing Illness, in 2011, when she remained in Austin briefly for her work as well as we satisfied to review it. (Our Safe Patient Project campaign is located in Austin). Her eyes illuminated as she was informing me regarding attending a Marketing Health issues seminar in Amsterdam the year before, and also the big impact it carried her. I picked up that she had satisfied many individuals there from different backgrounds that motivated new ways of thinking about medication safety issues. She wished to bring this conference to the United States, yet she recognized it would take a great deal of job and numerous hrs.
I remember her saying, “Individuals would certainly be surprised if they were told the truth about the medications being marketed to them.” We are fortunate to recognize as well as deal with a person as dedicated as Kim, as well as people are much better off, as well. We commend her for devoting to making this desire for hers come true in 2013, next month.
Check out the Selling Health issues meeting website for a listing of speakers as well as enrollment information. What’s also special concerning this seminar is that it’s grassroots moneyed, not pharma moneyed. We intend to see you there!