Consumer Reports has published a valuable article identifying common prescription drugs that can be dangerous for older patients. Healthcare consumers over age 65 are more than twice as likely to suffer from adverse drug reactions; the publication lists the following drugs as posing a high enough risk that they should be avoided if possible:

• Antianxiety drugs

  Chlordiazepoxide (Librium, Limbitrol); diazepam (Valium); quazepam (Doral)

  Recommended alternatives: alprazolam (Xanax), lorazepam (Ativan), and oxazepam (Serax)

• Antidepressants

  Amitriptyline, doxepin (Sinequan) and Fluoxetine (Prozac)

  Recommended alternatives: citalopram (Celexa), paroxetine (Paxil), and sertraline (Zoloft)

• Antihistamines

  Chlorpheniramine (Chlor-Trimeton); diphenhydramine (Benadryl)

  Recommended alternatives: Cetirizine (Zyrtec); fexofenadine (Allegra); loratadine (Claritin)

• High blood pressure and enlarged prostate drugs

  Doxazosin (Cardura); prazosin (Minipress); terazosin (Hytrin)

  Recommended alternatives: Diuretics for high blood pressure; tamsulosin (Flomax) for enlarged prostate.

• Pain relievers

  Naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn); oxaprozin (Daypro); piroxicam (Feldene); Meperidine (Demerol)

  Recommended alternatives: acetaminophen (Tylenol); ibuprofen (Advil ); capsaicin cream (Zostrix); morphine

• Sleeping pills

  Barbituates (Butisol, Nembutal, Seconal); diphenhydramine (Sominex); flurazepam (Dalmane)

  Recommended alternatives: zaleplon (Sonata) and zolpidem (Ambien)

• Stomach drugs

  Bisacodyl (Dulcolax); Diphenoxylate (Lomotil)

  Recommended alternatives: Increased intake of fiber and fluids; change in diet; loperamide (Imodium AD)

But I think Moore is really only half the story.

The other shoe that’s dropping on Big Pharma is us — the blogosphere and social networks that are revealing truths about this industry that the traditional media has failed to report.

In addition to offering up whistleblowers like Peter Rost, the Internet is tearing down Big Pharma one YouTube video at a time. According to Advertising Age,

The most damning of the videos are two five-minute segments — one from a former sales rep for Eli Lilly and Co.’s antipsychotic Zyprexa, who reveals what Lilly officials told him to say about the drug’s side effects. The other is a trailer for a 46-minute documentary called “Big Bucks, Big Pharma” from the Media Education Foundation, a Northampton, Mass., group that produces and distributes films intended to “inspire reflection” about American mass media.

Ad Age reports that all the negative attention has Big Pharma in a panic. Might we suggest an Ativan?

Here is a link to my YouTube favorite videos. Feel free to comment, subscribe to my list, become my friend, or send me a message.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to consumers about placing orders for prescription drugs over the Internet, saying that recent cases have shown that what was delivered is not what was ordered and is putting people in hospital. In a release, the FDA said it has become aware that a number of Americans who placed orders for specific drug products over the Internet (Ambien, Xanax, Lexapro, and Ativan), instead received a product that, according to preliminary analysis, contains haloperidol, a powerful anti-psychotic drug…

The FDA said laboratory analysis of the misrepresented tablets is ongoing, but preliminary analysis indicates they contain haloperidol, the active ingredient in a prescription drug used primarily to treat schizophrenia. FDA learned about the mislabeled and potentially dangerous products after their recipients complained to a US pharmaceutical manufacturer. The origin of the tablets is unknown but the packages were postmarked in Greece.

Here we go again: the FDA using the actions of a few rogue players to issue a broad-brush warning about Internet pharmacies. This is nothing new; the FDA is clearly in the pocket of Big Pharma and does its bidding at every turn.

Were the actions of these rogue pharmacies inexcusable? Absolutely. Does this have anything to do with licensed international pharmacies with verifiable third-party accreditations? No — absolutely not.

Would the FDA warn American consumers to not shop at the corner Walgreens because of what happened in San Antonio recently? No — in fact, they do very little to inform the consumer in such cases.

At eDrugSearch.com, we believe the best way to empower the consumer is to provide you with the information you need to make good decisions. And that includes making sure you know that we only allow safe, licensed pharmacies in our database.

As for the FDA’s agenda? We’re reminded of what Merrill Goozner told us in our recent chat with him:

I always find it curious that free traders are worried about the safety of drugs imported from Canada, but not lettuce from Mexico. I suspect Canada’s system for protecting its consumers against unsafe drugs is far superior to Mexico’s system for protecting consumers against contaminated food.

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?