Stories by Martha Rosenberg

Martha Rosenberg is an investigative health reporter and the author of Born With a Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health (Prometheus Books). subscribe to Martha Rosenberg's feed

The Truth About Sleeping Pills, Big Pharma's Goldmine

Posted on: Nov 21, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Pharmaceutical industry ads convey unrealistic expectations for fall-to-sleep time. The pills they shill do not always even work.

How Kids Are Getting Hooked on Pills for Life

Posted on: Oct 18, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Young children were once expected to outgrow their issues; now they're diagnosed with lifelong psychiatric problems.

Big Pharma's Newest Money-Making Scheme: Adult ADHD

Posted on: Sep 27, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Who belongs to this “untapped” market? Just about anybody.

New Weight-Loss Drugs Could Well Be America's Next Health Care Disaster

Posted on: Aug 6, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The checkered history of weight-loss drugs explains why the FDA has not approved a new diet drug in 13 years -- despite the 200 million Americans who might use such a drug.

Shocking Revelations About the FDA Exposed: Rubberstamping Drugs and Dangerous Medical Equipment, Spying on its Own Scientists

Posted on: Aug 2, 2012, Source: Truthout

"While I was at FDA, drug reviewers were clearly told not to question drug companies and that our job was to approve drugs," said an FDA whistleblower.

Shocking Health Effects of Commonly Used Pesticide: Brain Problems, Sexual Deformities and Paralysis

Posted on: Jul 5, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Dow's pesticide Dursban was banned for home use, but continues to be sprayed on our food despite horrific health threats.

Pharmageddon: The Drug Industry's Grip on Our Health and Lives

Posted on: Jun 24, 2012, Source: AlterNet

An interview with David Healy, an expert witness in homicide, suicide and birth defect legal actions involving psychotropic drugs.

8 Surprising Things That May Be Making Americans Fat

Posted on: May 31, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Eating too much and exercising too little, considered the root of obesity, are not the only probable culprits.

How Big Pharma and the Psychiatric Establishment Drugged Up Our Kids

Posted on: May 16, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Pediatric psychopharmacology is a billion-dollar business that sustains Pharma and Pharma investors on Wall Street.

Big Agriculture's Big Secrets: 9 Things You Need to Know About the Food You Eat

Posted on: May 9, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Food scandals are so costly to Big Food that it has repeatedly tried to kill the messenger rather than clean up its act.

6 Kinds of Pills Big Pharma Tries to Get You Hooked on for Life

Posted on: Apr 26, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Since direct-to-consumer drug advertising debuted in the late 1990s, the number of people on prescription drugs for life has ballooned.

Got Propaganda? Why All of the Milk Industry's Health Claims Have Been Proven Wrong

Posted on: Mar 12, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Marketers have been trying desperately for over a decade to increase the public's consumption of milk, but they keep failing. Here's why.

The Scary Danger of Meat (Even For Those Who Don't Eat It)

Posted on: Jan 30, 2012, Source: AlterNet

The government has rolled over once again for Big Meat and we may be in more danger from antibiotic-resistant superbugs.

4 Creepy Ways Big Pharma Peddles its Drugs

Posted on: Jan 9, 2012, Source: AlterNet

Big Pharma uses ads that sow hypochondria, raise health fears and sell diseases to adults and their children.

Seven Diseases Big Pharma Hopes You Get in 2012

Posted on: Dec 6, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Supply-driven marketing not only turns the nation into pill-popping hypochondriacs, it distracts from Pharma's drought of real drugs for real medical problems.

What Drugs Was Your Thanksgiving Turkey On?

Posted on: Nov 20, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Antibiotics and other drugs are common in the turkey that thousands of Americans eat every day.

Some Asthma Drugs Kill More People Than Asthma: Why Is Big Pharma Allowed to Hawk Deadly Pills?

Posted on: Nov 3, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Big Pharma and the FDA have known for years that some asthma drugs can cause asthma deaths, especially in children and African Americans.

Big Pharma's Latest Shady Ploy to Sell Depression Drugs That People May Not Need

Posted on: Jul 4, 2011, Source: AlterNet

The drug industry is coming up with ever more clever ways to pump Americans full of drugs they may not need -- and that may not even work.

Just How Contaminated Is the Fish and Meat That We Eat?

Posted on: Jun 5, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Why is there no meaningful regulation of the meat and fish industries?

How Big Pharma's Deceptive Advertising Helps Addict Patients, Screw Over Doctors and Jack Up Insurance Rates

Posted on: Apr 18, 2011, Source: AlterNet

Can anyone remember life before Ask Your Doctor ads on TV?

8-Year-Olds on Cholesterol Meds? Is Big Pharma Pumping Kids Full of Dangerous Drugs?

Posted on: Jan 26, 2011, Source: AlterNet

With childhood obesity on the rise, many kids are suffering from adult ailments. But Big Pharma's role in pushing adult drugs on kids requires a closer look.

15 Dirty Big Pharma Tricks That Rip You Off and Risk Your Health for Profit

Posted on: Dec 22, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Even during a recession, pharma is still the nation's third most profitable sector. Here are some of the dirty tricks it employs to stay on top.

Nation of Pill Poppers: 19 Potentially Dangerous Drugs Pushed By Big Pharma

Posted on: Dec 5, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Here are some of the dicey drugs many Americans are hooked on, thanks to greedy pharmaceutical companies.

15 Dangerous Drugs Big Pharma Shoves Down Our Throats

Posted on: Nov 18, 2010, Source: AlterNet

In the pharmaceutical industry’s rush to get drugs to market, safety usually comes last. And the public suffers.

Big Pharma Shamelessly Shills Dangerous Bone Drugs You Don't Need

Posted on: Nov 10, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Drugs meant to strengthen bones may not work -- and many have a slew of harmful side-effects like a higher cancer risk, irregular heart rate, and stomach bleeding.

Women Are Dying From Hormone Therapy; Why Is Pharma Still Allowed to Push It?

Posted on: Oct 21, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Big Pharma is still pushing its hormone therapy for women, despite the fact that it increases women's risk of cancer and other health problems.

Are We Giving Our Soldiers Drugs That May Make Them Kill Themselves?

Posted on: Oct 10, 2010, Source: AlterNet

More soldiers than ever are on drugs that have been linked to suicide and violent behavior.

8 Reasons You Should Stay the Hell Away From Eggs

Posted on: Aug 26, 2010, Source: AlterNet

From hideous cruelty and noxious gases to health risks and environmental blight, here are eight reasons to remove eggs from your diet.

Cloned Meat May Already Have Invaded Our Food Supply, Posing Alarming Health Risks

Posted on: Aug 19, 2010, Source: AlterNet

It's just a matter of time before we are eating clones, if we are not eating them now.

Can Drugs Make Americans Lose Weight? Not Likely

Posted on: Jul 26, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Diet drugs have proven to be ineffective and sometimes dangerous. Yet more keep coming down the pipeline.

Pfizer: The Drug Giant That Makes Bank from Drugs That Can Kill You

Posted on: Jul 9, 2010, Source: AlterNet

To say that Pfizer has been accused of wrongdoing is like saying BP had an oil spill.

Sex Pill for Women: Big Pharma Trying to Profit from Low Sex Drive?

Posted on: Jun 4, 2010, Source: AlterNet

A new pill promises to cure low sex drive in women. Is big pharma just trying to profit from another made-up disorder?

Buyer Beware: Over the Counter DNA Tests Can Cause More Harm Than Good

Posted on: May 19, 2010, Source: AlterNet

There's a huge push to market over-the-counter genetic tests. But the faulty tests can cause more harm than good.

8 Invented Diseases Big Pharma Is Banking on

Posted on: Apr 15, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Sleep sweating? Here are some new ways the pharmaceutical plans to make money.

New Cosmetic Has Dangerous Side-Effects -- Why Do People Use It?

Posted on: Apr 1, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Despite the Maybelline close-ups, Allergan's new drug Lattise is not mascara, but a glaucoma drug repurposed as an eyelash grower. And its side-effects are frightening.

Women Reported Fractures Caused by Bone Drug Long Before Health Industry

Posted on: Mar 19, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Fosamax users were flooding message boards with complaints months before mainstream media picked up the story. What's wrong with this picture?

The Dangers of Hormone Therapy: Why Is It Still Prescribed?

Posted on: Mar 7, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Martha Rosenberg and Rowan Chlebowski, a lead investigator of the Women's Health Initiative, talk about why doctors still promote hormone therapy despite its health risks.

Are Veterans Being Given Deadly Cocktails to Treat PTSD?

Posted on: Mar 5, 2010, Source: AlterNet

A potentially deadly drug manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has been linked to the deaths of soldiers returning from war. Yet the FDA continues to approve it.

When Everything Changed: The Impact of the Women's Movement

Posted on: Feb 28, 2010, Source: AlterNet

Martha Rosenberg and NYT columnist Gail Collins talk about why second wave feminism was necessary 50 years after women won the vote.

Why Has the FDA Allowed a Drug Marked 'Not Safe for Use in Humans' to Be Fed to Livestock Right Before Slaughter?

Posted on: Feb 2, 2010, Source: CounterPunch

There's a good chance you may be eating a livestock drug banned in 160 nations.

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