"More than 100,000 people a year die in American hospitals from adverse reactions to medication, making drug reactions one of the leading causes of death in this country, researchers are reporting today...." -- Journal of the American Medical Association study, as quoted in The New York Times It is no longer a secret that adverse drug reactions can be dangerous or even fatal, or that doctors often prescribe two relatively safe drugs -- which may cause a life-threatening interaction if taken together. THIS IS THE BOOK THAT TELLS YOU WHAT OTHER PILL BOOKS WON'T ABOUT YOUR MEDICATION! Top-selling drugs that are among the 160 Do Not Use Drugs discussed inside: Ultram Darvoset-N Lopid Desogen & OrthoCept Elavil Ativan Restoril Flexeril Valium Bentyl Entex LA Glucophage Macrobid Patients fill more than 80 million prescriptions a year for these drugs! Consumer advocate Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D., director of Public Citizen's Health Research Group, has thoroughly revised and updated this accessible, indispensable bestseller that alerts you to the potential risks of hundreds of medications available today. Worst Pills, Best Pills gives you the information you need to become actively involved in caring for yourself -- by asking your doctor smart questions about the drugs prescribed for you. Arranged by disease/condition, it offers chapters on adverse drug reactions, alphabetical indexes listing pills by their brand and generic names, new information about commonly used drugs, guidelines for helping you to say "no" if your doctor prescribes a drug you should not take, and safer alternative choices. Worst Pills, Best Pills also includes startling information about certain drugs that can actually cause depression, hallucinations or psychoses, sexual dysfunction, dementia, auto accidents, insomnia, parkinsonism, and more. Caution: Call your doctor before stopping the use of any drug.

This expanded, up-to-the-minute, fully revised edition of the bestselling guide to prescription pills includes information on the 166 pills to stay away from, 289 safer alternatives, and the 200 most-prescribed pills.

Worst Pills, Best Pills is a comprehensive listing prepared by the Public Citzen's Health Research Association, describing the pills which adults, especially older ones, should avoid taking to prevent drug-induced illnesses or death. A listing of safer, alternative drugs is included.

Originally published in 2012, revised edition published in 2013, by Fourth Estate, Great Britain; Published in the United States in 2012, revised edition also, by Faber and Faber, Inc.

We take our medicines on faith. We assume our doctors are well-informed, our drug companies scrupulous, our FDA diligent—and our medications safe. All too often we're wrong. Just how wrong is documented in this critically acclaimed portrait of the international pharmaceutical industry by one of our most highly respected investigative journalists. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), adverse drug reactions are the fourth leading cause of death in America. Reactions to prescription and over-the-counter medications kill far more people annually than all illegal drug use combined. Stephen Fried's wife took a pill for a minor infection—and ended up in the emergency room. Some drug reactions go away in a few hours or days. Diane's did not. This emotionally wrenching experience launched Fried into a five-year examination of the entire pharmaceutical industry, the most profitable legal business in the world. Rigorously documented, Bitter Pills is a full-scale portrait of pill making and pill taking in America today, presented through the powerful human drama of doctors, patients, drug companies, the FDA, and government regulators as they war for control of our medicine cabinets.

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019 New York Public Library Best Books of 2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Health and Science Books of 2019 Science Friday Best Books of 2019 New postscript by the author From an award-winning journalist, an explosive narrative investigation of the generic drug boom that reveals fraud and life-threatening dangers on a global scale—The Jungle for pharmaceuticals Many have hailed the widespread use of generic drugs as one of the most important public-health developments of the twenty-first century. Today, almost 90 percent of our pharmaceutical market is comprised of generics, the majority of which are manufactured overseas. We have been reassured by our doctors, our pharmacists and our regulators that generic drugs are identical to their brand-name counterparts, just less expensive. But is this really true? Katherine Eban’s Bottle of Lies exposes the deceit behind generic-drug manufacturing—and the attendant risks for global health. Drawing on exclusive accounts from whistleblowers and regulators, as well as thousands of pages of confidential FDA documents, Eban reveals an industry where fraud is rampant, companies routinely falsify data, and executives circumvent almost every principle of safe manufacturing to minimize cost and maximize profit, confident in their ability to fool inspectors. Meanwhile, patients unwittingly consume medicine with unpredictable and dangerous effects. The story of generic drugs is truly global. It connects middle America to China, India, sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil, and represents the ultimate litmus test of globalization: what are the risks of moving drug manufacturing offshore, and are they worth the savings? A decade-long investigation with international sweep, high-stakes brinkmanship and big money at its core, Bottle of Lies reveals how the world’s greatest public-health innovation has become one of its most astonishing swindles.