Illegal marketing by Eli Lilly led to deaths

Eli Lilly and the Case for a Corporate Death Penalty | Corporate Accountability and WorkPlace | AlterNet <read for details

On January 15, 2009, Lilly pled guilty to charges that it had illegally marketed its blockbuster drug Zyprexa for unapproved uses to children and the elderly, two populations especially vulnerable to its dangerous side effect. Lilly plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay $1.42 billion, which included $615 million to end the criminal investigation and approximately $800 million to settle the civil case.

One of the eight whistle-blowers in this case, former Lilly sales representative Robert Rudolph, says the settlement will not completely change Lilly's business practices, and he wants jail time for executives. "You have to remember, with Zyprexa," said Rudolph, "people lost their lives."

Rudolph is not exaggerating. Zyprexa, marketed as an "atypical" antipsychotic drug, has been promoted as having less dangerous adverse effects than "typical" antipsychotic drugs such as Thorazine and Haldol. However, on February 25, 2009, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the rate of sudden cardiac death in patients taking either typical or atypical antipsychotic drugs is double the death rate of a control group of patients not taking these drugs.

Stick Magnetic Ribbons on your S.U.V.

Stick Magnetic Ribbons on Your S.U.V. from devilsnight

(thanks McGoo!)

Thank You For Killing Canadians, Mr Harper

Just Another Willy Loman: Deregulated finger pointing at Maple Leaf

Of course prior to the changes that Harper’s government made to food
inspection, we would actually know if the cleaning was actually done
everyday.

Now under Harper’s deregulation the CFIA food
inspectors just read reports and review processes and don’t actually
get to verify, as in testing for listeria on the cutting blades right
on the floor.

Conservatives Don't Want You To Know Why People Died from Lysteria

Impolitical: Harper listeriosis investigation called out by union

... The Conservative government changes to the inspection procedure resulted in people dieing. And they plan on reducing inspections more - even after the deaths!

The Harper government has changed the way government inspectors do their work at meat plants such as the Maple Leaf facility in Toronto.

A new system, which began on March 31, puts an emphasis on the auditing of company records instead of direct visual inspections.

And, while Mr. Harper has emphasized a $113-million boost in funding
for food and product safety in the 2008 budget, the union said the
Tories actually have plans to slash funding for food safety programs.

Tory
spending plans would see funding for food safety programs cut by almost
30 per cent from 2006 to 2011, the union said. It cited numbers from
the Treasury Board of Canada Reports on Plans and Priorities.

Figures
from the same source suggest the Conservatives would cut food safety
staff by 19 per cent during the same period, the union said.

After Death Opportunities

mental_floss Blog » 10 Things Your Body Can Do After You Die