Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters Are Contaminating America's Drug Supply.DANGEROUS DOSES: How Counterfeiters Are Contaminating America's Drug Supply KATHERINE EBAN E·ban , Abba Born 1915. South African-born Israeli politician who served as Israel's first permanent delegate to the United Nations (1949-1959), ambassador to the United States (1950-1959), and foreign minister (1966-1974). Investigative reporter Eban began her research into counterfeit drugs for a 2003 article for Self magazine. After being shocked by the seedy side of the prescription drug prescription drug Prescription medication Pharmacology An FDA-approved drug which must, by federal law or regulation, be dispensed only pursuant to a prescription–eg, finished dose form and active ingredients subject to the provisos of the Federal Food, Drug, trade, she did the extensive reporting that created this in-depth report. This is not a tale of brand-name narcotics narcotics n. 1) techinically, drugs which dull the senses. 2) a popular generic term for drugs which cannot be legally possessed, sold, or transported except for medicinal uses for which a physician or dentist's prescription is required. ending up on the street, but just the opposite. Here, counterfeit, stolen, and otherwise-compromised products make their way to unsuspecting patients. Eban details back-alley sales of crates of counterfeit versions of Lipitor, Procrit, Epogen, and other drugs. These same bulk shipments end up in supposedly legitimate wholesalers' possession and then on pharmacy and hospital shelves, Eban writes. The account starts with a Miami-warehouse burglary and winds from there across the country, into pharmaceutical factories and to the chambers of Congress. The author introduces so many characters on both sides of the law that she includes an eight-page "who's who Who’s Who biographical dictionary of notable living people. [Am. Hist.: Hart, 922] See : Fame " directory. Lending gravity to Eban's muckraking muck·rake intr.v. muck·raked, muck·rak·ing, muck·rakes To search for and expose misconduct in public life. [From the man with the muckrake, style are dozens of pages of endnotes. Eban also provides an index and a glossary. The author concludes that the public can no longer trust the purity of drugs, even those supplied by reputable pharmacies. Harcourt, 2005, 320 p., b&w illus, hardcover, $25.00. |
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