Pimps, Whores and Chiggers: Musings from the Drug Safety & Health News Blog: The Corrupting Influence of Big Pharma

by Doug Bremner

This book, first in a series, is a collection of posts and essays on healthcare politics, drug safety news, and corruption in the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and healthcare. Funny, provocative, weird, or just entertaining, they bring a fresh perspective to a complicated area. Pimps refer to those who promote for personal profit drugs or devices, while whores are those in academia or elsewhere who allow their reputations and influence to be used for the same purpose. Chiggers are tiny insects in the forest of the Georgia, USA, where the author currently resides, that get under your skin, literally. This compilation of posts and essays expanded from one book into four, of which this is just the first, which focuses on the original goal of unbiased writings about specific medications, vitamins, and supplements, with links to additional online articles about specific topics written by the author, as well as the role of drug companies and others in biasing information. The second book focuses more on psychiatric medications and the battle over psychiatric diagnoses, as well as personal explorations of the author. The third book covers healthcare politics, and the efforts at healthcare reform within the U.S., while the fourth covers the eruption of blogs, websites, and forums, including online interest in true crime. These books follow a rough timeline of the author's own life, as his interests and focus have shifted over time.

259 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 20, 2023

About the author

Doug Bremner is a physician, researcher, professor, and author of nonfiction works including "You Can't Just Snap Out of It: The Real Path to Recovery From Psychological Trauma," "The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg," "Before You Take that Pill" and "Does Stress Damage the Brain?" "A Fresh Look at Greed", and "Fastest Growing Religion on Earth: How Genealogy Captured America." He has also authored fictional novels and screenplays. He is writer and director of the independent romantic comedy 'Inheritance, Italian Style' He lives in Atlanta, GA, with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Edward Rand · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should have been listed in the Horror category. I mean, like anyone with half a brain, I understood that the pharmaceutical industry had infiltrated the government at the highest levels. (See 50,000 + dead and counting due to the Opioid debacle, with people making money hand over fist, up and down the chain, for years before anything was even halfheartedly done about it). But to have it confirmed in so many other ways, then the mainstream media softballing Big Pharma stories because of all the DTC marketing said Big Pharma spends on advertising drugs...plus learn the Food and Drug Administration itself is now nothing more than a rubber stamp for private industry, and it's supposed primary function of protecting consumers from bad food and drugs is nothing but an afterthought, if that....yeah, Horror novel. I think I've actually lost sleep because of it.
The conclusion I've come to is "Caveat Emptor", buyer beware. Do your research, people, and be careful.
Thankfully, we have folks like Dr. Bremner, who is neither a Pimp nor a Whore (or a Chigger, for that matter) speaking truth and fighting the good fight. Thank you, sir. Keep up the good work.

[Alanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I DNF'd this book at about 25%. I found the style of writing (a compilation of blog posts, from the mid-2000s) to be difficult to read even though they were short, I also struggled with the content as some of it was 15 years old or so and no longer accurate (inclusion of policies enacted during the W. Bush years, even though some of that was changed during the Obama administrations), and there also appeared to be some personal bias on the part of the author. The author did add some extra pieces to some of the topics I read that included more recent information, but it felt like he just compiled his blogs into a book, without too much extra work and I could get the same information by looking for his blog and reading it there. I agree that the drug companies have much to answer to in regard to their processes and pushing drugs onto the market that don't do what they say, or are unsafe, but I didn't really see the contents of this book matching what I expected from it in regards to the topic.

I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

[Perry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make sure you read the Intro to know who the P/W/C are. The MD/author strings together a series of blog posts and articles he wrote to paint a provocative and not-so-flattering picture of the drug industry. From the practical (Should I give my children cold and cough medicine?) to the extreme (Flu shots are for idiots), the reader should buckle up; this is only installment 1 of 4.

[Nicholas Rice · Rating 5 out of 5]

awesome!

This book is a thought-provoking and engaging collection of essays that offers a fresh perspective on complex topics in healthcare and drug safety. The author's witty and entertaining writing style makes these essays both informative and enjoyable to read. This book provides valuable insights into the pharmaceutical industry, academia, and healthcare, shedding light on important issues. If you're looking for a unique take on these subjects, this book is a must-read. Highly recommended! I also love the visual examples given!