here is a new book out on pharmaceuticals with a chapter by yours truly. Is the chapter worth reading? That depends on how much you already know. What follows is a list of seven deadly sins. In each case the sin has one of two causes. See if you can identify them: * Not long ago, millions of Americans who did not even have arthritis were taking such arthritic pain relief medicines as Vioxx and Bextra and Celebrex when less-risky, less-expensive over-the-counter remedies would have been more appropriate. * While Americans over-consume some drugs, such as Ritalin and antibiotics (and, in the latter case, degrade the effectiveness of the drugs for society as a whole), we under-consume other drugs. In fact, for such conditions as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, obesity and high cholesterol, our use of effective drug therapies appears to be a small fraction of what it should be.” [See Editorial for comments] (06/06/08)