I have heard too many horror stories what with flu vaccines and the incredible amount of new cases of autism after kids get their childhood shots....
and now more from our friends in pharmaceuticals
Pfizer in 2009 agreed to pay $2.3 billion to settle civil and criminal allegations that it had illegally marketed four drugs: Bextra, Geodon, Zyvox, and Lyrica “with the intent to defraud or mislead” by promoting the drugs for non-approved uses; this marks Pfizer’s fourth such settlement in the previous decade. Pharmacia and Upjohn, a Pfizer subsidiary, agreed to plead guilty to violating the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for illegal promotion of Bextra, a federal felony. The settlement is also the largest health care fraud settlement ever, and included the largest ever criminal penalty fine, $1.3 billion. Pfizer admitted it had illegally promoted the drugs and caused false claims to be submitted to Medicare and Medicaid for uses that were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. In addition to the False Claims Act the Anti-Kickback Act [20] was invoked. Pfizer has entered a corporate integrity agreement and will be required to make substantial disclosures, on its website, about its activities, including payments to doctors. The settlement also addressed allegations that Pfizer paid bribes to health care providers as inducements to prescribe the four drugs. Six whistle-blowers will receive $102 million; one, John Kopchinski, a former sales representative, will receive $50 million..