So...is Dr. Sanjay Gupta a Hero for American Medical Consumers or a Shill?

[KoKo]

Can folks post "Pro and Con" info here about why he should deserve Obama's pick as US Government's Surgeon General" position?

Many of us DU'ers Oppose Him...but it seems that "some" do promote him and think he might be an excellent pick because the folks who watch "Cable Media" have found what he says informative and helpful.

So... could the "pro's and con's" about Gupta's proposed appointment post their links as to why they oppose or disagree with this appointment?

I'm sure it will be too work for folks to do instantly, so please keep this post kicked until you have time to get the info you need to express your view about this important Obama Pick for his Administration.

Thanks!

[leftstreet]

1. He's against single payer healthcare. But then so is Obama

I think basically Gupta represents another blow to the whole HIGHLY subjective Hope Change thing.

[Captain Hilts]

3. It was great when I lived in Canada. nt

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. The pick has me dancing with joy.

[Fumesucker]

4. I don't watch TV and had never heard of Gupta before..

But I'm starting to think "shill" after a bit of reading..

I wish I could say I'm surprised at Obama, but I'm not.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

5. I have very little faith in TV doctors

Then again, I have very little faith in most people.

[Locrian]

6. shrill

President-elect Barack Obama's choice for U.S. Surgeon General is reportedly CNN journalist Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a pro-vaccine pusher with ties to Merck.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta is a strong proponent of the Gardasil HPV vaccine, and the television show he once hosted ("Accent Health") was primarily sponsored by Merck, makers of Gardasil.

http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000649_Dr_Sanjay_Gupta_Obama_Surgeon_General.html

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

10. "Pro-vaccine pusher."

:thumbsup:

[Deja Q]

15. I have to agree.

Like it or not, herpes is rampant. Protecting those who don't have it sure as hell gets my vote.

I'm even sparing one of my typical, lengthy diatribes - but given I refuse to do it with just anybody, it's not relevant to say right now.

[fizzgig]

45. hpv is not herpes

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). The virus infects the skin and mucous membranes.

http://www.cdc.gov/STD/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm

and no one chooses to get herpes. there is a possibility it can be transmitted even if a condom is being used.

educate yourself a bit before you get on that high horse of yours

[Deja Q]

12. The anti-herpes vaccine? He's for it?

Or because it's just tied to the company that bought him?

Given the number of people who chose to get herpes (1 out of 4 in NYC have it), How can it be so bad a thing, being for such a vaccine?

I'll wait for something substantial to happen before saying anything officially.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

16. Anti-HPV vaccine.

"How can it be so bad a thing, being for such a vaccine?"

The idea is, if you vaccine girls and women against an STD that causes cervical cancer, it'll encourage them to have pre-marital sex.

Anti-gardasil positions were really big among the ultra-rightwing for awhile. There were a handful of posters on DU who were also anti-gardasil, citing typical loony anti-vaccine conspiracy theories. If you scratched the surface a little bit, you'll find very conservative opinions on women's sexuality. It's all in the archives.

[Deja Q]

42. Ah.

I was probably one of them, but when it comes to frivolous casual sex, I'm not sexist. Both genders need to be very careful or at least very less stupid about what they do and with whom they do it with. Good luck regarding either choice; people don't often use protection and stupidity is all too human.

These days, thanks to the latest stats, those who don't have it should get it -- just to keep the stuff from spreading, or at least because the person who doesn't have it might really get involved with someone who has it and doesn't want it. (much less the adverts saying that even during a remission, it's still possible to spread it...) Self-protection; can anybody else be trusted. A funny thing to define a society... seems a contradiction in terms; a society of the paranoid and conniving.

[drm604]

23. He's for a vaccine that reduces the chances of cervical cancer?

That's a plus for him as far as I can see.

[KoKo]

30. Some "questions" from a USA Today study of what's come out about this vaccine...

Cervical cancer vaccine up for FDA review
Posted 5/17/2006 8:31 PM ET E-mail | Save | Print | Reprints & Permissions | Subscribe to stories like this
By Rita Rubin, USA TODAY
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee on Thursday is considering whether the agency should approve the first vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer.

Merck, maker of the Gardasil vaccine, says the FDA has granted it priority review status, which means the agency is supposed to make a decision within six months of receiving the company's application. The six months end June 8.

The FDA usually, but not always, goes along with recommendations from the advisory committees.

Rick Haupt, executive director for vaccine medical affairs at Merck, says Gardasil could be on the market within a month of approval.

The vaccine targets four types of human papillomavirus, or HPV. HPV 16 and 18 cause about 70% of cervical cancers; HPV 6 and 11 cause most genital warts cases. Spread by skin-to-skin contact, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the USA.

More than 90% of cases clear up on their own, but persistent infection with certain HPV types causes virtually all cervical cancers. Screening greatly has reduced cervical cancer cases and death in industrialized countries, but it remains a leading cancer killer of women in developing countries.

Although Gardasil has not been approved, Merck launched a marketing campaign in late April to raise awareness of the link between HPV and cervical cancer. As recently as 18 months ago, research showed only about 20% of U.S. women knew HPV causes cervical cancer, Merck spokeswoman Kelley Dougherty says.

The FDA does not allow manufacturers to advertise an unapproved product, so a vaccine is not mentioned in Merck's HPV ads or on its HPV website.

Dan Katz, general manager of Quantum, a health care communications company, says he could not remember another example of "non-branded disease awareness" ads sponsored by a company that does not yet have an approved product for the condition in question.

"It's kind of risky. Obviously, they have a lot of confidence in their clinical data, and it's not all that controversial, but you never know."

Dougherty says Merck also ran disease awareness ads for osteoporosis and high cholesterol before Fosamax and Vitorin won FDA approval for treating those conditions.

Clinical trials involving about 20,000 women have found Gardasil to be extremely effective against the four HPV types. In a briefing document for advisory committee members, the FDA raised three questions related to Gardasil's safety and effectiveness:

• Among the subgroup of women who tested positive for HPV 16 and 18 when they entered the clinical trial, women who got the vaccine had a greater risk for precancerous cells than those who got the placebo shots.

• Infection with cancer-causing HPV types other than 16 or 18 might offset Gardasil's effectiveness.

• Fifteen women in the vaccine group and 16 in the placebo group gave birth to babies with abnormalities. But five of the babies were born to women who conceived within a month of getting the vaccine, while none were born to women who conceived within a month of getting the placebo.

Haupt says the safety concerns were raised by subgroups so small that the vaccine's less-favorable showing was probably due to chance.

If the FDA approves Gardasil, a separate committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will issue recommendations on who should be immunized and when.

[Jamastiene]

7. Con: He pays homage to eugenics studies and studies that say women are less intelligent than men.

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2008/07/25/extremist-steve-salier-is-source-for-cnns-black-in-america-series/

"In October 2006, CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported on a study by J. Phillpe Rushton that purported to show that men, on average, are more intelligent than women. Gupta identified Rushton only as a professor of psychology at the University of Western Ontario. Since 2002, Rushton has been the head of the Pioneer Fund, a pro-eugenics foundation that funds the research of academic racists like Jared Taylor and Rushton, who himself has received over $1 million in Pioneer grants. Among Rushton’s findings are that on average blacks have larger genitals, breasts and buttocks, characteristics that, according to Rushton’s “research,” have an inverse relationship to brain size and, thus, intelligence."

[drm604]

17. I'm not a huge supporter of Gupta.

I know very little about him, but nothing in your link indicates that he "paid homage" to those studies or even agrees with them.

[Avalux]

22. Stop. He reported on it, did not pay homage to it.

Nowhere does this indicate Gupta is in agreement with Rushton.

[Bjorn Against]

8. The con is that he is a liar

He straight up lied about Michael Moore's movie, and it out that on every fact he accused Moore of fudging Moore was right and Gupta was wrong. That is the con.

I guess the pro is that he is a really smooth talking liar and he could probably convince those who don't do their research. Alright that may not be much of a pro but it was the best I could come up with, this guy does not belong anywhere near our health care system.

[bigtree]

9. he's always very informative and helpful

that's basically his job as SG

[Bjorn Against]

19. I don't think his lies about Moore were either informative or helpful

[bigtree]

44. I don't think his comments made a difference in hell

He was wrong and was proven wrong. He won't be making policy. Most of what the SG does is make those little public service announcements about epidemics, disease outbreaks and general health. He's pretty good at that. TV doctor stuff.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

11. Shill

He worked overtime to disprove things in Michael Moore's "Sicko," and his confrontation with Moore on Larry King was laughable.

[CLANG]

32. I didn't like him before that happened

After that, I lost any respect I had or ever could have had for the guy. He sucks the teat of the pharmaceutical and Health Insurance industries.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

36. Agreed

That was my final straw, too.

Hey, welcome to DU!

:toast:

[baldguy]

13. Shill

[OhioChick]

14. Shill. n/t

[EFerrari]

18. He's an entertainer. Who's cutting his check this week?

[Avalux]

20. Here's a scary prediction for you:

If Americans do not change the way they eat, 100% of us will be obese in 50 years.

Gupta is neither a hero nor a shill. As surgeon general, he will have no role in creating public health policy, but in conveying it to the American people.

Most Americans are idiots when it comes to medical knowledge and how to take care of themselves. My hope is that Gupta's role will be to explain to these Americans in very simple terms, how to change their lifestyles and take care of themselves; practice preventative healthcare.

Gupta may be a TV personality, he may have battle with Michael Moore and according to some here, may have ties to a RW thinktank. But if he can be an effective spokesperson for the Obama Administration and make a dent in this country's obesity problem, which in turn will impact obesity-related diseases and ultimately our healthcare system, then I'm OK with it.

[Locrian]

21. exactly why he is the wrong person

Because his ties with companies will direct his actions to the benefit of their bottom line. I'm all for health, but not with the primary concern being big business. There are better ways ie prevention vs popping pills, pushing drugs.

[Avalux]

26. Seriously?

Do you not realize many chronic ailments of adult Americans are secondary to obesity? The SG will be tasked with preventative healthcare, not pill pushing.

[dorkulon]

35. Do you really thinl there's anybody left who doesn't know

they should eat better and exercise more? It's not that we don't know HOW to be more healthy, just that we don't DO it. There's nothing Gupta can do about that.

[K Gardner]

24. Pro: Gupta says what he is told to say. For the foreseeable future, after his contract

with the corporate media (and ergo pharmaceutical companies) expires, he'll be saying what Obama and Daschle want him to say. This, according to a guest on Olbermann, is what Obama wants: A familiar face/voice for his health initiatives.

[K Gardner]

25. Con: Easily influenced, possibly an utter lack of integrity. Paid shill.

[drm604]

37. Exactly.

He will say what his employers tell him to say. If he doesn't then he's gone. This appointment deprives the insurance and pharmaceutical companies of an effective shill, and puts him on our side.

It's like a chess game, and this appears to be a good move. I say that as someone who initially considered this to be a very bad appointment.

[lob1]

27. When Mike Moore was on CNN promoting "Sicko",

wonderful Wolfe Blitzer brought in Gupta to discredit Mike's claims. Gupta did a film piece to counter Moore that included a man representing doctors, who told what a horror socialize medicine would be. Only later we found out the man "representing" doctors was a lobbyist for big pharma. Gupta knew who the man was and deliberately misrepresented him.

[KoKo]

28. Is this the interview with Mike Moore on King you are talking about? You Tube, here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oR2U_SAWHdQ

[Skittles]

29. Gupta is a corporate hack

a fucking disgrace

[ChromeFoundry]

31. Couldn't have said it better myself. n/t

[bigwillq]

33. Shrill

:mad:

[dorkulon]

34. Shill. /nt

[Odin2005]

38. If the anti-vax nuts (AKA bigots that think us autistics are "poisoned") hate him then...

I have no problem with him.

[KoKo]

39. Have you listened to this "three parter?"

http://crooksandliars.com/2007/07/11/michael-moore-vs-sanja-gupta/

[Odin2005]

40. Fixing the healthcare system is gonna be Daschle's job, not the SG's. n/t

[KoKo]

41. Why should that mouthpiece shill for CNN get such an honor as Surgeon General?

Even if he doesn't "make policy?" :shrug:

[Geek_Girl]

43. Bingo!

He's a joke IMHO. Why not make Dr Phil Surgeon General or put Judge Judy on the supreme court? This is just ludicrous.

[Odin2005]

47. Dr. Phil isn't a real psychologist.

Gupta, on the other hand, is a real brain surgeon and an academic who gets stuff published on peer-reviewed publications.

[Odin2005]

46. Because as SG he'll be using his shilling skills for shilling for Obama and Daschle.