Some 80% of antibiotics sold in this country go to farmers to put in animal feed, and while the livestock and pharmaceutical industries now like to pretend it’s for disease prevention, the primary motive for shoving drugs down animals’ throats is because antibiotics have the happy side effect of encouraging growth. The practice is so widespread that it would take one of the country’s largest beef-buyers to result in any effective change, which is why New York Congresswoman Louise Slaughter has called on McDonald’s to ditch drugged-up meat for good. [More]
Pharma Medicine
Novartis Continues To Market Antibiotic As A Way To Fatten Up Pigs
By 5.16.14
Last December, after decades of ignoring the issue of the non-medical use antibiotics in farm animals, the FDA finally released industry-friendly guidance on the topic, politely asking drug companies to stop selling their antibiotics to farmers for anything other than disease treatment and prevention. And yet the folks at Swiss drug giant Novartis continue to push one of their antibiotics as a way for pig farmers to make bigger pigs. [More]
Why Can’t You Get Medical Marijuana At CVS Or Walgreens?
By 5.13.14
Even though marijuana has been legalized by Colorado and Washington, and nearly two dozen states have laws protecting medical use of marijuana, you won’t be seeing it made available at your local pharmacy unless the federal government decides to legalize it. [More]
Drug Makers Raising Prices On Prescription Medicines Because They Can
By 5.9.14
Imatinib, a cancer drug sold under the name Gleevec by Novartis, is a life-saving and life-prolonging medication. The question for many patients, however, is: how much are they willing to pay to prolong their lives, and how much profit a company can make from one medication before it becomes immoral. [More]
Unruly Walgreens Shopper Goes On Kissing Spree Through The Store, Licks Employee’s Head
By 5.2.14
Listen, everyone likes a good smooch now and again, but that doesn’t mean that a stranger in a store will appreciate an unexpected puckerjob. Police say a man went on a kissing spree through an Omaha Walgreens, topping the whole weird encounter off with a well-timed lick to an employee’s head. [More]
Does Film-Coated Advil Really Work Faster?
By 5.1.14
Unless you’re allergic to certain non-active ingredients or have you have an unusual sensitivity, generally the brand-name and generic versions of over-the-counter medicines are pretty much the same. Manufacturers keep adding innovations to coax customers away from generic meds, like a film-coated version of Pfizer’s Advil that is supposed to relieve pain faster. Does it? [More]
Lawmakers Urge Drug Store Chains To Stop Carrying Tobacco Products
By 4.29.14
It’s been nearly three months since CVS announced it was phasing out the sale of tobacco products in its stores, and so far no other major drug store chain has followed suit. So today, a dozen members of Congress, led by Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, called on these retailers to put an end to their part in the sale of cigarettes and other items containing tobacco. [More]
Detroit Police Bust Shoplifting Ring Accused Of Stealing $15K Of Stuff Per Day
By 4.11.14
While you might think you know about shoplifting based on that ill-advised stint in middle school when everyone was doing it, cops in Detroit have fried a much bigger fish than your normal grab-and-go thieves: Investigators say they’ve just busted a shoplifting ring responsible for stealing as much as $15,000 worth of merchandise a day and reselling it on the Internet. [More]
This Is What It Looks Like When A Car Drives Through The Door Of A CVS
By 4.3.14
Turns out those automatic doors stores have can be counted on to let anyone in — even if it’s a car driving up to the store instead of person. Shoppers at a CVS in Tampa had a close call with a wayward vehicle after the driver lost control and crashed through the front doors and into the store. [More]
Walgreens Customer Mistaken For Homeless Person, Kicked Out Of Store
By 4.1.14
An overzealous Walgreens security guard and a case of mistaken identity led to what the drugstore chain is calling “an unfortunate situation” in Chicago. A 62-year-old man, a Vietnam War veteran, claims that he entered the store and a security guard asked him to leave or face arrest. The guard had mistaken him for a homeless man who had caused problems at the same store. [More]
Weight-Loss Drug Alli Recalled Over Tampering Concerns
By 3.27.14
Big pharma biggie GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has issued a recall all on all of its alli weight loss products in the U.S., including Puerto Rico, over concerns that packages may have been tampered with, resulting in some bottles containing something other than actual alli capsules. [More]
Drug Companies Say They Won’t Sell Antibiotics For Non-Medical Use In Animals, But Are They Telling The Truth?
By 3.26.14
The FDA had “Look at effect of medically unnecessary antibiotics in farm animals and maybe do something about it” on its to-do list for three decades, and then last December it finally issued a pretty-please to the pharmaceuticals industry, asking drug companies to voluntarily stop selling antibiotics for non-therapeutic use on farm animals. Almost all of them have since agreed in writing to follow the FDA’s guidance, but are those promises worth the paper they’re written on? [More]
SeaWorld Makes A Big Splash In Worst Company Competition Debut; AT&T, Citi Also Move On
March 25, 2014
In the nearly decade-long history of Worst Company In America, we’ve noticed that newcomers — especially those who make the bracket because they’re in the news a lot — either flame out in the early rounds (like Lululemon) or take the tournament by storm (like past winners EA and BP). This year’s out-of-nowhere surprise comes courtesy of the folks at SeaWorld, which swam to an easy win in its WCIA debut. [More]
Walmart, Koch, McDonald’s All Move On To Round Two Of Worst Company Tournament
March 20, 2014
Two of today’s WCIA battles were dominated by household names, proving that being the biggest doesn’t mean you’re the best. Another showdown featured companies that aren’t necessarily on the tip of everyones’ tongues, but are no less hated than the big brand names. [More]
Does Walgreens’ New Up-Close-And-Personal Pharmacy Approach Violate Privacy Laws?
By 3.20.14
In an effort intended to provide pharmacy customers a less impersonal experience, some Walgreens stores have been redesigned to get pharmacists out in the store, consulting with customers at desks, without the traditional counter (and sometimes panes of bulletproof glass) between them. But the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services wants to see if this new “Well Experience” model is unintentionally revealing customers’ private medical information. [More]
Anti-Anxiety Pill Contains Metal Shard, Makes Patient Anxious
By 3.19.14
People routinely cut or snap pills in half to change their dose or save money by taking half of a larger dose. Generally, they don’t expect to find anything inside when they do so. One woman in Denver was dividing her medicine, a generic version of the antianxiety drug Buspar, and noticed a metal shard. Just what anyone needs: more things to be anxious about. [More]
Have Fun Breaking Down This Year’s Worst Company In America Bracket
March 18, 2014
The above bracket will be updated at the end of each day of WCIA competition to reflect that day’s results.
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After going through all of your nominations, then having y’all rank the contenders and eliminate the chaff from the wheat, we’re proud to present the first round match-ups for this year’s Worst Company in America tournament! [More]
28 Attorneys General Urge Major Retailers To Discontinue Tobacco Sales
By 3.17.14
Is it a conflict of interest when stores that sell products to improve your health also make billions every year selling cigarettes? More than two dozen Attorneys General think so, and are lighting a fire under the nation’s largest drugstore and supermarket chains to get them to quit. [More]
