USA Today - Americans Attitudes About Pharmaceuticals
Americans Attitudes About
Pharmaceuticals
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Public mostly satisfied with drug
safety
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Updated 3/4/2008 12:03 PM
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Most Americans trust drug companies and their products, at
least somewhat. More than half say they trust drug companies to quickly inform
consumers when they learn of a safety concern, but only 15% trust them "a
lot."
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Do drug companies do enough to test and monitor the
safety of their drugs?
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Yes
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55%
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No
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41%
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No opinion
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4%
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Overall, how confident are you that prescription drugs
sold in the USA
are safe?
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Very confident
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27%
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Somewhat confident
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51%
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Not too confident
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15%
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Not at all confident
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6%
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No opinion
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1%
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Some drugs sold in the USA are manufactured in other
countries. Do you think these drugs are safer, about as safe or less safe
than those manufactured in the USA?
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Less safe
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41%
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About as safe
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49%
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Safer
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3%
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No opinion
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7%
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How much do you trust drug companies to:
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A lot
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Somewhat
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Not too much
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Not at all
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No opinion
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Develop new, effective drugs
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25%
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55%
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14%
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5%
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1%
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Offer reliable information about side effects and safety
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21%
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51%
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17%
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10%
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1%
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Inform the public quickly when they learn of a safety
concern
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15%
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40%
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28%
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16%
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1%
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Offer reliable information about how well their drugs work
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13%
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58%
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19%
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10%
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*
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Source: USA
TODAY/Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health
poll of 1,695 adults nationwide, conducted by ICR, Jan. 3-23. Margin of sampling error, +/3 percentage points.
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