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"They arranged, with help from a group of physicians, the mailing of free samples of a new long-acting version of the antidepressant Prozac to dozens of patients in Florida. The patients had not requested the pills. The family of one sixteen-year-old boy who received a one-month supply of Prozac in the mail said he had never been diagnosed with depression. The pills had arrived in a Walgreens drugstore package with a form letter signed by local physicians." - Melody Petersen, Our Daily Meds: How the Pharmaceutical Companies Transformed Themselves into Slick Marketing Machines and Hooked the Nation on Prescription Drugs (Get the book.)

"When the drug first became available over the counter, teams of drug company representatives would stand at the gates of county fairs and Southern barbecues and hand out free samples! Let's look at some of the recent research on the dangers of these drugs, and why they cause problems. What do these drugs do that are so bad? Well, their"good" effects-shutting down stomach acid-also have a "bad" effect." - Mark Hyman MD, The UltraMind Solution: Fix Your Broken Brain by Healing Your Body First (Get the book.)

"When you are shopping and see free samples of cooked food, don't give in to the lie that "one little bite won't hurt." Anything you put into your mouth that doesn't add to your health subtracts from your health. Once you start giving in to indulgences, you will find yourself SADly "enjoying" daily bites and samples. Before you know it, you will descend gradually and inevitably into old food addictions. "Just one bite won't hurt" is the attitude that creates bad habits. In Overeat-ers Anonymous, this is called "the first compulsive bite." - Susan E. Schenck, The Live Food Factor: The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet (Get the book.)

"Studies show that most free samples wind up being handed out not to the poor but to the insured, along with doctors' families and friends. Companies know that doctors tend to stick with prescribing a drug once they've given it to a patient as a sample—even if that particular drug isn't the best treatment for the patient or there's a cheaper or safer one that would do just as well. When there are several drugs available for the same condition, doctors are more likely to prescribe the brand they have in their supply closet." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "In addition to supplying free samples, Howard was expected to visit her doctors regularly, to establish friendly relationships with them, and to talk up Pfizer's drugs. "The personal relationship with the doctor is everything," she says. "If the doctor likes you, then he will try your drug." Reps will go to great lengths to cultivate doctors, even sleeping with them upon rare occasion, as a competitor of Howard's was. But most reps rely on the other three Fs—food, flattery, and friendship—to move product." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "Information, please It's tempting to lay the blame for all of this—the distortions in the medical literature, the co-opting of academic thought leaders, the wooing of physicians with lavish dinners, free samples, and trips to exotic locales—on either the pharmaceutical industry or the FDA, the agency that is supposed to regulate it. Marcia Angell and other critics charge that the FDA's record on ensuring the public's safety is poor. The agency has approved dangerous drugs far too quickly and then failed to monitor them once they hit the market." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "Physicians often don't act on this evidence, either because they are unaware of it or because drug company representatives aren't pushing diuretics and don't give out free samples of them. But at the VHA, doctors are urged to try diuretics first. The pharmacists track whether doctors and nurses are prescribing a drug properly, and they look at patient outcomes to see if discouraging the use of a particular drug has inadvertently led to more sickness and more hospitalizations." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"They decided to approach the produce manager of an Asian market and give him free samples. Soon enough they were selling briskly for $3.99 a pound. In fruiting season, they sell hundreds of pounds ofjujubes a day. Another shortcut to surefire profit is to legalize a previously outlawed fruit. Banned throughout most of the twentieth century in New York State, black currants weren't allowed to be sold, cultivated, transported or grown because of their link to a disease threatening pine trees." - Adam Leith Gollne, The Fruit Hunters: A Story of Nature, Adventure, Commerce and Obsession (Get the book.)

"Whenever a new drug is introduced on the market, doctors are deluged with free samples from the manufacturer. Frequently these drugs go unused. And while a pharmaceutical company may be introducing one kind of medication, sales reps may drop off samples of two or three medications already on the market. These bonus samples can really come in handy. Ask your doctor or the nursing staff or office manager about the samples on hand. You may receive a week's supply or more for free. Note: Always check the expiration dates on any samples!" - Bottom Line Books, Uncommon Cures For Everyday Ailments (Get the book.)

"The drug companies knew this, of course, and were willing to give me a steady supply of samples in order to make sure that I was familiar with their drug instead of a competitor's. With free samples to give out to people who needed them, I felt like Robin Hood. And they (I now realize) felt like very effective drug reps. You may wonder why 80 to 90 percent of doctors—with all their training and clinical experience—are willing to listen to drug reps at all." - John Abramson, Overdosed America: The Broken Promise of American Medicine (P.S.) (Get the book.)

"Thus would the off-label "information" meet the off-label doctor meet the inevitable boxful of free samples. Vioxx, Zocor, Singulair, Fosamax, Medco — by the year 2000, the mainstays of the Gilmartin way had transformed Merck. It was now as much an information company as it was a pill company. For stockholders, the upshot of that was best summarized in Merck's annual report: sales stood at $40.3 billion, up a stunning 23 percent from the previous year. Profits were even more impressive: the company cleared more than $5.2 billion." - Greg Critser, Generation Rx: How Prescription Drugs are Altering American Lives, Minds, and Bodies (Get the book.) "As Kelly saw it, there were three ways of branding products: the rational, show-and-tell model, based on science and free samples; the emotional-sit-uational method, based on humor and human experience; and the spiritual-ethical method, based on attracting people to their better selves and the institutions aligned with such. Invoking Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Kelly threw down a challenge: pharma must move toward the emotional way of marketing, because "in that way we can move toward the spiritual-ethical method." And more: "We must find a way to market beyond just product." Beyond product?" - Greg Critser, Generation Rx: How Prescription Drugs are Altering American Lives, Minds, and Bodies (Get the book.)

"Retail stores make various demands of manufacturers: slotting allowances, "free fills," free samples, free demos, "ship us a case of 12 and we'll pay 10," Morris explained. "Basically what they're telling you is, look, in order to put your products on the shelf, we have to take something off. And what we're taking off could be a product that could theoretically sell more, or is selling more, than what you could sell. We have a risk, but we're willing to take that risk if you'll mitigate it." - Stacy Malkan, Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry (Get the book.)

"These drug reps bring free food for office staff, free samples for distribution to patients (an important reason to see these drug reps),36 free pens, free textbooks and other free gifts. The reps are sometimes authorized to provide free vacations for physicians who would enjoy spending a weekend with other physicians and hearing the latest "research" on the effectiveness of a given drug or class of drugs.37 Do these "marketing" efforts work? They work so well that there are now over 90,000 of these "drug pushers" walking the streets of America." - Dr. Timothy Scott, America Fooled: The Truth About Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and How We've Been Deceived (Get the book.) "Other research also points to the power of direct-to-consumer advertising finding it is more effective than providing the physician free samples or even doing "detailing" (drug company representatives meeting and teaching physicians about the latest "research" on an antidepressant or whatever drug he or she is promoting on that visit).22 In fact, it appears that DTC advertising may be the single most effective way a drug company can increase the number of people who are diagnosed with depression and will then begin taking antidepressants." - Dr. Timothy Scott, America Fooled: The Truth About Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and How We've Been Deceived (Get the book.)

"Physicians often don't act on this evidence, either because they are unaware of it or because drug company representatives aren't pushing diuretics and don't give out free samples of them. But at the VHA, doctors are urged to try diuretics first. The pharmacists track whether doctors and nurses are prescribing a drug properly, and they look at patient outcomes to see if discouraging the use of a particular drug has inadvertently led to more sickness and more hospitalizations." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"PhRMA's position on free samples is that it "gets patients started on therapy right away or helps physicians optimize dosing on the choice of drug before committing to a particular course of treatment." Drug company sales representatives are trained to peddle drugs to physicians. They undergo extensive training, which gives them the technical ability to convey the positive effects of the drugs they represent. Their compensation is based on their ability to increase prescriptions in their territory and their loyalty to the company and its product line is directly related to their income." - Craig Pepin-Donat, The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie (Get the book.)

"Yet, there was a time when "direct-to-consumer" (DTC) advertising was not legal in America and so promoting Robert Wilson's Feminine Forever, establishing non-profit foundations to send out free literature, distributing free samples to encourage drug use by physicians, and advertising to physicians were the methods employed by pharmaceutical companies, as well as dozens of other back-door strategies. That all changed in 1997. That was the year that drug BOX #4-1 Don't Be Fooled— Don't Buy the Purple Pill Nexium Drug patents are good for 20 years in the United States and elsewhere." - Dr. Timothy Scott, America Fooled: The Truth About Antidepressants, Antipsychotics and How We've Been Deceived (Get the book.)

"Many believed that growing rates of polypharmacy were fueled by pharma promotional activities, like giving out free samples and stethoscopes. "At national meetings, the idea we talked about was to reject the goodies," recalls Dr. Terry Kupers, who was head of the Medical Committee for Human Rights in the 1970s. "[Pharma sales representatives] would show up at grand rounds, and we would confront them and turn down the goodies. We also went to our intern meetings within our institutions and told our supervisors that we did not want [the reps] on grand rounds." - Greg Critser, Generation Rx: How Prescription Drugs are Altering American Lives, Minds, and Bodies (Get the book.)

"In addition, some doctors who received free samples billed both Medicare and their patients for the drug. The value of the free samples was estimated at between $31 million and $78 million. To discourage physicians from talking among themselves about the varied discounts they received, TAP's sales management spelled out in slide presentations how its sales force should deal with the subject: Explain to physicians that discussing price could potentially put reimbursement in jeopardy." - Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, Critical Condition: How Health Care in America Became Big Business (Get the book.)

"Physicians for Sale Until recently, in addition to providing free samples, it was common practice for drug reps to actually bribe physicians by taking them out to dinner, paying for office equipment, or travel and entertainment for special conferences in return for the physicians prescribing their drugs. Not until July 2002 did negative exposure about this unethical practice force the drug industry to "voluntarily" create new ethical guidelines, which explicitly outline the proper interaction between a salesperson and a physician." - Craig Pepin-Donat, The Big Fat Health and Fitness Lie (Get the book.)

"Studies show that most free samples wind up being handed out not to the poor but to the insured, along with doctors' families and friends. Companies know that doctors tend to stick with prescribing a drug once they've given it to a patient as a sample—even if that particular drug isn't the best treatment for the patient or there's a cheaper or safer one that would do just as well. When there are several drugs available for the same condition, doctors are more likely to prescribe the brand they have in their supply closet." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "Information, please It's tempting to lay the blame for all of this—the distortions in the medical literature, the co-opting of academic thought leaders, the wooing of physicians with lavish dinners, free samples, and trips to exotic locales—on either the pharmaceutical industry or the FDA, the agency that is supposed to regulate it. Marcia Angell and other critics charge that the FDA's record on ensuring the public's safety is poor. The agency has approved dangerous drugs far too quickly and then failed to monitor them once they hit the market." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.) "In addition to supplying free samples, Howard was expected to visit her doctors regularly, to establish friendly relationships with them, and to talk up Pfizer's drugs. "The personal relationship with the doctor is everything," she says. "If the doctor likes you, then he will try your drug." Reps will go to great lengths to cultivate doctors, even sleeping with them upon rare occasion, as a competitor of Howard's was. But most reps rely on the other three Fs—food, flattery, and friendship—to move product." - Shannon Brownlee, Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine Is Making Us Sicker and Poorer (Get the book.)

"Doctors in private practice receive mountains of free samples, and often are sent on luxurious vacations in exotic places. Many carry out drug trials for the pharmaceutical giants, for which they receive compensation. When I was in medical school, pharmaceutical reps would take us to lunch at some of the best restaurants, give us leather medical bags, expensive medical textbooks, stethoscopes, and other "toys" to buy our loyalty. They were always friendly, and over time, we did become close friends with them." - Russell L. Blaylock, M.D., Health and Nutrition Secrets (Get the book.)

"They leave lots of free samples for the doctor to give away. This may seem like a great deal, but after the pills run out, you are stuck paying the bill for what is often a pricey prescription. These tactics work amazingly well. Patients do ask their doctors for specific medicines that they see advertised, and physicians prescribe them quite often.5 And physicians are also influenced by drug company marketing.6 Even their conferences and continuing medical education are often supported by the pharmaceutical industry." - Joe Graedon, M.S. and Teresa Graedon, Ph.D., Best Choices From the People's Pharmacy (Get the book.)

"As we well know, it can be a challenge to make positive dietary changes, especially given that we're continually tempted by a barrage of persuasive ads, aggressive marketing, and even free samples of sugary or much-like-sugar foods. We concede that sellers of sweet, refined foods are fighting to survive, if not thrive, but let's bear in mind that the rest of us are fighting to stay healthy and trim at the same time. Not an easy problem to resolve. Dr." - Connie Bennett, C.H.H.C. with Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life-- and How YouCan Get Back on Track (Get the book.)

"It's likely difficult to pass up all those "free samples" that your doctor's pharmaceutical rep is so generous with. Not only would I not pay two cents for any of them, but, (knowing what I know), you couldn't even pay me enough to take any of them! They are basically toxins, (which our liver is fully aware of), and as I often state, by far the greatest contributor to most people's poor health. In a recent survey, it was found that only 4% of medical doctors were very familiar with natural therapies! That absolutely must change if our nation's health is ever going to improve." - Dr David W Tanton, Ph.D., Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, And Stimulants - Dangerous Drugs on Trial (Get the book.)

"I spoke with a Sara Lee representative who was giving out free samples of the bread at a meeting of nutrition educators in summer 2005. This bread, she explained, is designed .. ... ; . , r?; ommercial bakers add back pieces of to be "transitional," to net customers I . V* the wheat bran or cracked wheat used to its slightly chewier taste. People who like soft white bread are particu- breads look natural and healthy but are little more than white breads in disguise. (whole grains broken into smaller pieces) to give white bread the appearance of larlv finicky." - Marion Nestle, What to Eat (Get the book.) "The pizza place was giving out free samples, so I tasted one. This pizza was baked right there, but it tasted like standard com- mercial pizza, thick crusted, loaded with cheese, and a bit soggy. This did not bode well for the bakery, which I finally found way at the back of the store. By itself the bakery was the size of a medium New York City grocery store and a handsome sight. It displayed many kinds of loaves and rolls, fresh out of steel ovens set up in plain view. In front of them, a couple of workers were shaping dough on a table covered with flour." - Marion Nestle, What to Eat (Get the book.)

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