New York, New York, September 25, 2006. A coalition of 10 organizations, advocates, healthcare professionals, academics and concerned citizens have launched a campaign to get one million people to go to their healthcare providers and ask, “What am I really putting into my body? What are the side effects? What are the alternatives?” The effort is called Just Say “Know” to Prescription Drugs and is driven by increasing evidence that many people are uninformed about the potential side effects of their prescribed medication and are not aware of less-risky alternatives.

The advocates are declaring October “Just Say Know to Prescription Drugs Month” and have scheduled a conference in Washington D.C. on October 7th to officially launch the campaign.

The conference will report that virtually all people are inadequately informed to assess the genuine risks of the drugs–or combination of drugs–they are taking and will suggest “informed consent as the solution.” Leading up to the event and throughout the month of October, the campaign coalition will unveil a national effort to get a million people to download a form that allows them to evaluate the drugs they are taking. The form collects specific information from their prescribing physicians, requiring the physician’s signature attesting that they have fully informed their patient of the risks and benefits of the prescribed medication as well as non-drug alternatives.

“Informed consent in the prescription of drugs is one of the most critical but missing pieces in the healthcare system today,” said Dr. Dominick Riccio, psychologist, Executive Director of the International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc, and chairman of the “Just Say Know” Campaign. “Every day intelligent people are taking prescription drugs that they simply don’t understand and the consequences of not knowing are increasingly dire,” said Riccio.

The campaign is being launched on the heels of a $500,000 national AARP campaign to gain public support for the purchase of drugs from foreign countries. The bill that AARP is backing was written by Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has bipartisan support and would allow consumers to buy U.S. made prescription drugs from Canada and eventually from other countries. “This is an important initiative aimed at reducing the cost of prescription drugs. But the corollary is that many people are spending hundreds of dollars a month on prescriptions for which there may be low cost or no cost non-drug alternatives,” said Dr. Greg Tefft, co-founder of the Just Say Know to Prescription Drugs Campaign.

Organizations and individuals who want to participate may go to any of the following websites, look for the Just Say Know to Prescription Drugs logo, and download the sheet titled “Take This Form and Sign It.” Instructions will be provided on each form.

International Center for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology, Inc.
Dominick Riccio, Ph.D.
www.icspp.org

The James Nayler Foundation
Robert Johnson, MD.
http://truthtrustconsent.com

The Law Project for Psychiatric Rights
Jim Gottstein, J.D.
http://psychrights.org

Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine
Abram Hoffer, MD.
www.orthomed.org

SelfGrowth.com
David Riklan
http://www.selfgrowth.com

MESICS Fitness
Jim Manganiello, Ed.D.
http://www.mesicsfitness.com

Natural Bodybuilding & Fitness Magazines
Steve Downs, Editor-in-Chief
http://www.exercisegroup.com/

Psych Truth.Org
Laurence Simon Ph.D.
www.psychtruth.org

Dr. Michael Siebert
http://www.drmichaelsiebert.com

KPNC Radio
Dr.Greg Tefft
http://www.kpncradio.com

“It’s time for all us to take more responsibility for our own health and to demand that our healthcare providers be more accountable to ensure that we are informed enough to make responsible choices,” said Dr. Laurence Simon, psychologist and vice chairman of the campaign. “Take two of these pills and call me in the morning is no longer acceptable,” said Simon.

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