Darvon - Darvocet on trials in US

torsdag 1 november 2012

Members of the HELP Committee, US - Senate

Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Michael B. Enzi and Senator Barbara A. Mikulski,

I am sure you know that the painkilling substance Propoxyphene (Darvon and Darvocet) was banned in US two years ago. In Sweden, UK and also in the European Union (EU) the drug was banned earlier.

Thanks to these decisions hundreds, thousands of lives have been and will been saved around the world.

We are Ulf Jonasson, Doctor in Public Health and Birgitta Jonasson, PhD, and we have studied the substance since 1994. We wrote and published eleven scientific articles – seven were about Dextro -Propoxyphene (DXP) as the substance is called in Europe.

We wrote and defended two doctorial dissertations, 2000 at the University of Uppsala, Sweden and 2001 at the Nordic School of Public Health.

Please visit our CV http://bit.ly/NUSPQ4

Our main result was that 200 persons in Sweden were poisoned to death due to Dextro-Propoxyphene every year during the years 1992-1999. During the years our research has got lots of attention.

In US the substance was synthesized in 1953 and came out on the market 1957 and – as I wrote – banned 2010 – and that makes the drug being around in 53 years. There was a congressional hearing about Propoxyphene * in 1980 – and frankly I have to say, nothing of important happened to stop the fatalities. NOTHING.

The years 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2011 I made trips to Washington DC to promote our research to authorities, politicians and try to make them aware of the huge problems there were with Propoxyphene. We talk about huge problems - with 100,000 to 200,000 fatal poisonings since 1957.

I know these figures are devastating, the American society has not been able to listen to warnings, as a matter of fact, I do believe that there are just a miner group in US that is aware of the big problems - if they know about the problem at all - or if the dare to recognizes the problem.

I am quite sure that I am the first –and only one – that have tried to make some decent estimates about the fatalities due to Propoxyphene in US and it is bulit on data from Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE)

I have published some Tweets about my thoughts:

How come that no other than myself dare to estimate the numbers of fatalities due to Propoxyphene in US? http://bit.ly/O0OkJs

The numbers of fatal poisonings caused by Propoxyphene in the US could be 3 600 – 4 600 every year during 2003 - 2010 ( eight years)

How many fatalities do you think 244 828 000 prescriptions on Propoxyphene caused in US during 10 years? http://bit.ly/Qetgiu

The coming trials about Darvon - Darvocet - with Eli Lilly - may be the hottest medical news in years. http://bit.ly/NUSPQ4

Now I am also able to estimates the number of fatalities during the year 2011, a year without prescriptions of Propoxyphene and from these figures make estimates for the whole country.

I would be very happy to present and explain for you the newest data about the drug in US, what happened aftre the drug was banned.

I visited Senator Kenendys office 2003 and 2004. I did not have the pleasure to meet the Senator himself but I met his man on Public Health, David D. Dorsey – he is nowadays one of the top guys at FDA. I have also met people from Public Citizen, NIDA ( Nora Volkow) and DEA.

Senators, I would be very happy to meet you and inform more about our research when I get to Washington DC. I will be in US from Monday November 12^th and will stay in US till Monday 19^th. Wednesday 14^th – Thursday 15^th I will be in Boston.

Look forward to hear from you soon.

Kind Regards

Ulf Jonasson

PS. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski was part of the investigating in 1980.

· The report “Propoxyophene – oversight. Hearing before the subcommittee on the health and the environment of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, May 21, 1980 Serial No 96-180”

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Ulf Jonasson

Doctor in Public Health (DrPH) and Journalist
Lövdalsvägen 5, SE-640 20 Björkvik, Sweden
Phone:+46(0)155 714 55 Cellphone:+46(0)730 23 26 00
http://ulfjonasson.nforced..com/

http://jonassonulf.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/DrUlfJonasson

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onsdag 31 oktober 2012

Dear Kerry - a letter from Sweden

Dear Kerry,

I was among the many people that visited the Dramaten theater Friday night, and it was amazing – to say the least. I have visit the national theater quote many times, and this performance was among the best ever - maybe some Bergman theater could have stronger, but this time some of the best Swedish actors that were participating Friday night.

Earlier during the day I also visited the photo – exhibition, and that was a great test before the evening.

You and I had a small contact on Twitter- Facebook before you came to Sweden, when I told you and the people at the Facebook side, that I got that last ticket to the performance.

I was also the older white-hairy man that tried to take a photo of when you arrived to the Dramaten, but at that moment my flash didn´t work. Quite unbelievable

I have the talk show where you were a part of - with the Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. I think he is one of the best we ever have had. He has around 3 millions watchers ever Friday – both in Norway and in Sweden. I also liked to see you and your brother in another TV channel, Great to see and listen to you na dwhat you have to say.

I did like watching you in the program and it was very nice to hear John Irving talk about your father and how he influence us youngsters at that time. Irving is sex months older than I am. I was very interested in politics from 13 -14 years and have some memories from the Presidential election 1956. My father was a fan of Adlai Stevenson and so I was.

I was in high school and a member of the young liberals when JFK became my hero. From early 60th I started to buy books about your family. And I have continued during all the years. I looked today at a part of my bookcases and found around 2,5 meters with books about you family, it is around 90 titles, they are both in Swedish and in English.

One of the first books I bought was JFK´s Profiles in Courage “Studier I mod” in Swedish. The book came out in Swedish first time 1961, but I bought the new edition with a foreword of your father – written December 18, 1963 – and the book came out 1964 after the murder of the President.

This book have meant very much to me, very much.

This book also remains me of your father, he was my second hero and I have read lots about him, and I found the book about the friendship between Ken O'Donnell and you fatther just great, just great. And I know that your family helped the daughter of Ken O´Donnell with lots of data from your family-archive

I can say – without to be presumptuous – I hope - that my wife and me – have tried to show courage in our research when we challenged one of the Big Pharma in US - Eli Lilly. We started our research on the painkilling substance Propoxyphene - Darvon and Darvocet - 1994 and we found a very toxic drug in our reasearch at the Forensic Medicine Department in Uppsala Sweden. We became Ph Students - for me almost the day I got 50 years - and we wrote seven scientific articles about the substance, and we alos wrote and defended two doctorial dissertations and we got our Ph D´s in 2000 for my wife and 2001 for me.

Our goal with the research was to stop the substance in Sweden and then - see if we were able to do more. The drug was then phased out in UK, then we raised the question in the European Union Parliament and the drug became banned in all the 27 member states in EU.

Two year ago - Nov 19th 2010 - the drug was banned in US and now hundreds of lawyers have been working for the coming trials and today there are more than 200 coming trials to wait.

There ought to be damages for maybe billion of dollars.

I have been in US –Washington DC - four times during the last ten years to promote our research and to inform media about what terrible things the drug has caused in US since 1957.

Twice I visited Senator Kennedy´s office - but I did not meet the Senator himself but his man in Public Health - David D Dorsey 2003 and 2004. Now David is one of the top guys at FDA.

I also visited FDA, Nora Volkov at NIDA - National Institute for Drug Abuse - DEA, and Public Citizen also twice. They wrote two petitions to FDA to stop the drug Propoxyphene and we are co-signers. As a matter of fact our research gave them another opportunity to fight against Propoxyphene. That has been a congressional hearing 1980 – but the drug was not banned.

If you want to know more - please go to our CV, there you will find all data about us and the research. bit.ly/NUSPQ4

My third trip was 2007 and my fourth 2011 – during the earthquake in DC - and now I have planned my fifth trip, I leave Sweden Sunday Nov 11^th and I will stay in US until Monday 19 th.

The hardest part with the research has been to get US media interested. It seems they do not want to believe some unknown researcher from small country called Sweden. And it is hard to believe the horrifying data we have. They are really HORRYFYING.

Our studies have mostly been at the Forensic Medicine Department of the University of Uppsala. The university was founded 1477 and is the oldest in the Nordic countries. The simple truth with our research is that the Swedish organization in this field is updated, modern and very good, among the best in the world with data, we have one federal law about the four branches of forensic medicine.

The US organization in the Forensic Medicine field is not good at al. You have two different systems - medical examiners and coroner (very old-fashioned). There are different rules in different states and some decisions are take on the county-level. There are more than 3000 counties in the US.

In Sweden you take a blood test on every person that is brought to a forensic autopsy – according to the law – and this blood test is screened against all legal prescribed drugs - and Propoxyphene is one legal drug. And therefor we find this special drug in the blood.

In US the decision to take a blood test is often taken on the county level, and it cost money, so why take a blood test – if you see that the person already is dead.

The drug has been around in US since 1957 and it is possible that there could be more than 100 000 fatalities during the 53 years.

Last Friday when I was in Stockholm I also was interviewed by a producer and journalist from UK and now one of the best medical journals will investigate our data. It seems as media in UK take our research more serious than US media does.

More about my coming trip:

I have decided to spend two days in Boston, visiting both the Library about the President and the quite new institution presenting Ted Kennedy, probably Nov. 14 th – Nov 15.

As far as I now you have one office in Washington and one in New York about your father, and I will also visit one of this places.

I also plan to write a blog – and a Facebook page about my trip. I will call it "The Kennedys– with my eyes" – or something like that. I want to focus more on the persons – the private persons.

Would it be possible to meet you somewhere, to take a cup of coffee as we put it in Sweden?

Please go to:

http://bit.ly/NUSPQ4

http://jonassonulf.blogspot.se/

Look forward to hear from you

Kind regards

Ulf J

ulf.jonasson@telia.com

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Ulf Jonasson

Doctor in Public Health (DrPH) and Journalist
Lövdalsvägen 5, SE-640 20 Björkvik, Sweden
Phone:+46(0)155 714 55 Cellphone:+46(0)730 23 26 00
http://ulfjonasson.nforced..com/

http://jonassonulf.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/#!/DrUlfJonasson

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onsdag 18 juli 2012

Some tweets

http://jonassonulf.blogspot.se/2012/07/some-tweets.html

Some tweets;

We have worked since 1993 to stop the painkiller Darvon – containing propoxyphene – in US. Now it is done.http://bit.ly/9r5VOU

Who were responsible for the Darvon disaster during 45 years? Of course it was Eli Lilly. Go to http://bit.ly/exdSOn

“Darvon and Darvocet trials will be bigger than Vioxx”, predicts Dr Ulf Jonasson – http://bit.ly/i7hnIB

Are we actually the Whistleblowers about banning Darvon? Judge for yourselves. http://bit.ly/exdSOn

Eli Lilly has the moral responsibility for 100 000 deaths caused by Darvon since 1957. Time to pay http://bit.ly/i7hnIB

We are just two Davids against the Goliaths, “Big Pharma” is the enemy and we are winning the battle. http://bit.ly/9r5VOU

Methadone kills lots of people, dextropropoxyphene kills even more, go to http://bit.ly/N8Zoyc andhttp://bit.ly/HEMgo4

Thousands have sued Eli Lilly et al. about the danger of Darvon and Darvocet - http://bit.ly/nmNNc2 - http://bit.ly/HEMgo4

Hundreds of trials – about the painkillers Darvon and Darvocet - will soon start in Lexington, Kentrucky, http://bit.ly/HEMgo4

torsdag 5 januari 2012

Restrictions on the prescribing of Dextropropoxyphene(DXP) effects on sales and cases of fatal poisoning

http://www.rmv.se/fileadmin/RMVFiles/pdf/publicerat/dxp-report.pdf

http://bit.ly/piOQAs

Written by Ulf Jonasson and Birgitta Jonasson

Report written on behalf of Rättsmedicinalverket (National Board of Forensic Medicine) and Läkemedelsverket (Medical Products Agency) in co-operation with Riksförsäkringsverket (National Social Insurance Board) and Giftinformationscentralen (Swedish Poisons Information Centre)

Darvon - Darvocet on trials in US

torsdag 1 november 2012

Members of the HELP Committee, US - Senate

Senator Tom Harkin, Senator Michael B. Enzi and Senator Barbara A. Mikulski,

· The report “Propoxyophene – oversight. Hearing before the subcommittee on the health and the environment of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce House of Representatives, Ninety-sixth Congress, May 21, 1980 Serial No 96-180”

onsdag 31 oktober 2012

Dear Kerry - a letter from Sweden

måndag 13 augusti 2012

Some Tweets

We have worked since 1994 to stop the painkiller Darvon–containing propoxyphene–in US. http://bit.ly/9r5VOU

Here you will find our scientific papers on (Dextro) Propoxyphene. http://1.usa.gov/OAVwG

A report in English about Propoxyphene (Darvon - Darvocet)

onsdag 18 juli 2012

Some tweets

torsdag 5 januari 2012

Restrictions on the prescribing of Dextropropoxyphene(DXP) effects on sales and cases of fatal poisoning