The February 2003 issue of the AARP
Bulletin reported: "Three nonprofit organizations that claim to
speak for older Americans are in fact heavily bankrolled by the
pharmaceutical industry, an examination of tax records by the AARP
Bulletin shows."
"United Seniors Association, for
example, got more than a third of its funds in 2001 from drug-industry
sources. The big donors included Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the industry's trade association;
Citizens for Better Medicare, a PhRMA-funded nonprofit group; and Pfizer
Inc. Total industry contributions: at least $3.1 million."
PhRMA lobbying activities have extended
outside of the United States as well.
"America's big drug companies are
intensifying their lobbying efforts to 'change the Canadian health-care
system' and eliminate subsidized prescription drug prices enjoyed by
Canadians," CanWest News Service reported on June 9, 2003.
"A prescription drug industry
spokesman in Washington confirmed to CanWest News Service that
information contained in confidential industry documents is accurate and
that $1 million US is being added to the already heavily funded drug
lobby against the Canadian system."
PhRMA was also independently spending
$450,000 to target the booming Canadian Internet pharmacy industry,
which has been providing Americans with prescription drugs at lower
prices than in the United States.
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