The New York Times recently carried a full-page ad for one of the statin drugs. While this well-crafted ad contained factual information and a picture of Dr. Robert Jarvik, who invented the Jarvik artificial heart, it was as misleading as it was expensive.

The ad's major and largest print claim was, "Lipitor reduces risk of heart attack by 36 percent." Below that striking claim it says, "That means in a large clinical study, 3 percent of patients taking a sugar pill or placebo had a heart attack compared to 2 percent of patients taking
Lipitor." Then below that it lists the people who should not take Lipitor, such as those with liver problems, women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant, or anyone who develops muscle weakness while taking the drug.

After being hit with the 36 percent and the smiling picture of the famous doctor taking and supporting the drug, why would anyone bother reading further? I suspect that very few do. So, the ad is totally factual. However, it is also totally misleading because of how it says what it says and also because of what it does not say.

Like a used car salesman failing to mention that the car for sale was in a serious wreck at some point, the statin drug ad does not tell us about the drug's lack of efficacy and its toxic side effects. The ad also doesn't mention that the drug is not very good at elevating good cholesterol (HDL), does not lower fat levels and has no anti-inflammatory properties.

While the ad tells us that the drug results in fewer heart attacks, it does not say that those taking it live any longer. As for the 36 percent figure, it has nothing to do with real risk but is only a measure of decrease in risk from 3 percent to 2 percent, which when looked at properly means very little. It does not mean there is a decrease risk of 36 patients out of each hundred, as many may assume. In fact, are no studies showing that the statin drugs allow patients to live longer compared to placebo. If there were, you can be sure that this would have been the major number to jump at you from this ad.

(The only large-scale study ever conducted in relation to increased longevity was with niacin, a B vitamin, which showed prolonged life of two years and decreased the deaths by 11 percent.)

Drug ads such as the statin one are very convincing and very misleading. It is no wonder prescription drugs are a major
cause of death in North America.

[Dr. Hoffer, in private practice as a consultant, was recently honoured by the International Schizophrenia Foundation with a Lifetime Achievement Gala Dinner in Toronto, Ontario, for his commitment to the mentally ill and their families. His career in both practice and research laid the foundation for the Orthomolecular Medicine approach that is helping so many people today.]

Want to search for other articles that may interest you?

Readers of this article also enjoyed...