Pepin’s Pharmaceutical Prattle for 11-24-2003
	Quote of the day: "Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life," --Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign.

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! So what do you have to be thankful for?… I started out with the intention of asking a lot of people but was stopped short by the first answer I received. While camping this weekend with the Boy Scouts I happen to ask one of the leader's and he said "Being home". I pressed for more and he told me that he is a Marine and will be leaving for overseas about December 15th. What turned out to be a quest for unusual answers landed on the TRUTH right away. Home…life with family, friends, warm shelter, more than enough food, security…. all summed up in that one word. …George Washington and …Abe Lincoln. have declared Thanksgiving as a National holiday…(Click on either for text then think about it).......I hope that you enjoy your "home" this Thursday….even if you must be away for good reason...

Some bad poetry (by request believe it or not) from last year…

So what do you have to be THANKFUL for this year? Life? A wife? (or husband…the other with a gold band) A home warm and cozy? Neighbors? (even those nosey) Friends upon which you can count? In the bank, a large amount? Health? (some say better than wealth) Wisdom, time? Another fine wine? Tots with toys? (the ones that make a joyful noise!) Pink ones girl, blue ones boys. "Opportunities" and challenges may seem a pain but when you overcome you FEEL the gain. You can't pick what you are dealt but your attitude determines what is felt by you and those around. Thanks are what should abound! I thank the Lord for all of these and all of you, if you please, for life without variety would be quite bland and we both enjoy a helping hand. This past year we've shared a joke, a smile, a tear. With God's grace I'll continue the battle and subject you all to much more Prattle. smp

1) Curiouser and curiouser…
	It had to happen sooner or later…. US citizens who bought Canadian drugs issued a warning by the Canadian gov due to recall. Truth... stanger than fiction! …Click here for full text http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01261.html.

2) Kill Bill?
	Vote due MONDAY 11/24 on the Medicare drug bill…Dems want to jaw it to death…expect passage. …Click here for full text . http://www.msnbc.com/news/992373.asp?vts=112320031429

3) What next? BCP bubble gum?
	.Birth Control Chewables…Must be followed by 8oz of water. I guess they are REALLY targeting the younger crowd now….Won't be long and it will come as a baby formula additive! …Click here for full text. http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/ticker/article.asp?Feed=RTR&Date=20031114&ID=3089229&Symbol=US:BMY

4) CDC missed the FLU strain this year….
	But you should still get the vaccine…it is close enough to provide immunity. If you haven't had your FLU SHOT yet….go get one! We don't have an obituary section in the PPP and I don't want to start one with YOUR NAME! (36,000 American dies each year of influenza!) …Click here for full text. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/18/science/18FLU.html?ex=1069822800

5) Last Thursday was a special day too.
	The GREAT AMERICAN SMOKE OUT!. If you quit for one day it could change your life. Did you know that once you have been tobacco free for 5 years that your lung cancer rate goes back to that of a non-smoker. You will be thankful that you quit…Iam! (my pipe of tobacco was 12/6/1980…. but who's counting?) …Click here for full text. http://www.quitsmoking.com/kopykit/reports/smokeout.htm

6) Study shows that most using COX-2's could use something else….
	I wonder if the author's mother's name was Emily, too. It would make her Emily COX II. …Click here for full text. http://www.corporate-ir.net/ireye/ir_site.zhtml?ticker=ESRX&script=410&layout=-6&item_id=470100

7) Third oral ED drug approved.
	Cialis by Lilly. To sort this out: Viagra was the innovator. Levitra has a quicker onset of action (16 minutes), and Cialis lasts for 36 hours. Expect the prices of each to be comparable. They will go head to head on FEATURES. Serious drug interactions occur with all….some potentially fatal! What price amour? …Click here for full text. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/2003/ANS01265.html

Have a good week,GREAT Thanksgiving (and don't forget to CALL HOME if you can't be ther!)...Steve

Disclaimer: "Pepin's Pharmaceutical Prattle" (AKA "The Prattle") is the property of PHARMWORKS, LLC and Steven M. Pepin, Pharm. D, BCPS. The opinions expressed are those of the bald-headed author. To start or stop any drug without the advice and supervision of your physician would be stupid. So don't do anything based upon what you read here without professional advice. To be added to or removed from the distribution list please e-mail your request to spepin@pharmworks.com . All insightful comments from readers are thoughtfully considered (the rest are callously discarded). Copyright 1998-2003 PHARMWORKS,LLC all rights reserved.