Do drug companies hire distinguished doctors to push drugs at professional seminars, disguised as educational symposiums? Are doctors the targets of other slick ad campaigns by drug companies? Apparently so, says an article in the February 1992 issue of Consumer Reports. The article calls it inefficient medicine and a major contributor to soaring health care costs.

One incident involved paid T.V. time where doctors were urged to use a drug (Actigall) for gallstones, despite conflicting with standard medical recommendations. The FDA declared the program false and misleading.

The most heavily promoted drugs are those for arthritis, high blood pressure, ulcers, high cholesterol, and respiratory infections. The Consumer Reports article suggested patients ask their doctor if non-drug therapies could be used.

The January 1993 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine has published a survey which should turn the heads of those involved in our national health policy. It showed that 85 million Americans are using alternative methods for their health care needs, spending almost $14 billion of which over $10 billion is out of pocket (not covered by insurance).

The study was done by Dr. David Eisenberg of Beth Israel Hospital and Harvard Medical School. His study was based on more than 1,500 randomly chosen adults in 1990, and estimates that the 425 million visits to alternative care offices was more than the number of visits to the family doctor, general practitioner and pediatrician combined (388 million visits). While many patients utilized both types of health care, they rarely told their mainstream medical doctor of their additional alternative care.

Back pain, allergy, anxiety and headaches were among the common reasons given for seeking alternative care. But classic end-stage diseases such as cancer were also reasons given.

The use of the drug Ritalinƒ, commonly given to hyperactive children, is again under scrutiny. Dr. Stephen Breuning, the psychologist who first researched the medication, pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court (9/89) to falsifying his findings.

A National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) investigation showed that Breuning, who was responsible for one-third of the literature on drug therapy for hyperactive children during his research years, "knowingly, willfully and repeatedly engaged in misleading and deceptive practices in reporting results of research," (Ginsburg, S. Baltimore [UPI], November 11, 1989).

Accordingly, the research was never done as described in the grant application to the NIMH, and the results Breuning claimed were never attained. It was the first federal conviction of a researcher for falsifying results.

Even low levels of lead, which can find its way into the body from many sources, has devastating effects on the young and old alike. The most severe effects of lead toxicity include low IQ, memory loss, poor motor skills, and poor calcium utilization. When a young pre-school child becomes lead toxic, it could have catastrophic effects on his entire future.

Dr. Herbert Needleman of the University of Pittsburgh, author of a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, puts it this way: "People who were exposed to low doses of lead as children still have measurable deficits as young adults, and the effects are not just expressed in psychometric testing, but in measures of real-life function like graduating from high school and learning disabilities."

The old problem of kids eating lead paint is still a big problem. Although leaded paint is banned there are still over 2 million homes with lead paint on the walls. Also, lead in drinking water and ceramic dishes can contribute to this toxic problem Lead can also be brought into the home on the shoes after walking outdoors.