AGs Join to Provide Prescription Drug Information

April 24, 2008 -- (ALBUQUERQUE) --- New Mexico Attorney General Gary King today announced a $4.4 million grant that will ultimately help consumers make the safest and most effective prescription drug choices. The money gives Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, the assistance needed to help give consumers free and unbiased information when sorting through the confusing prescription drug market.

Prescription drugs: Photo by Mr. T in DC (CC)

The grant money is available as part of a $38 million dollar consumer protection settlement between the Attorneys General of 50 states and Warner-Lambert, now owned by Pfizer, the world’s largest pharmaceutical company. The Attorneys’ General consumer protection settlement was part of a larger May 2004 agreement where Warner-Lambert paid $430 million to resolve allegations that it illegally marketed its drug, Neurontin®, for “off-label” purposes not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The Attorneys’ General settlement earmarked funds for consumer education and advertising, with a large portion set aside for grants that will give consumers balanced information when making the important decision about what drug is the safest and most effective.

This effort directly involves Consumers Union’s public education project, Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs™ (www.CRBestBuyDrugs.org),a program with a website that provides prescription drug comparisons ranging from affordability to effectiveness.

“Millions of consumers either go without needed medications or pay high prices for their prescriptions because they don’t know about effective, affordable alternatives,” says Jim Guest, President of Consumers Union. “The AG Grant will help counter pervasive drug industry marketing that drives up health care costs by informing consumers about their choices when it comes to prescription medications.”

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs™ has so far examined prescription drugs used to treat 35 major medical illness and conditions, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure, depression, insomnia, and diabetes.

The Attorneys General grant funds awarded today to Consumers Union will also expand the free drug safety information by reaching out to organizations across the country and providing information at http://www.consumerreports.org/health/prescription-drugs.htm to reach seniors, low-income, minority and other target audiences with balanced information that can help improve health quality and lower prescription drug costs. For example, the National Association of Agencies for the Aging, through its 650 Area Agencies, will bring this unbiased information to the senior communities across the country. The grant also will create educational campaigns about prescription drug choices that are targeted at low-income and also to Spanish-speaking consumers.

Source: New Mexico Attorney General

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