Tell your elected officials
how Canadian online pharmacies have helped you and your family.
We have provided a sample letter below to guide you, followed by
contact information for your local officials, the president and
Canada's prime minister.
For your convenience,
our sample letter is available as file that you may click to open,
print out and sign.
Click
here to print and sign the sample letter.
Dear ____________________________________,
Online pharmacies give millions of Americans, like me, an alternative
to the high price of prescription medication. I am writing to urge
you to take political action and to support measures to ensure a
thriving Canadian online pharmacy industry.
I believe you should hear from an average citizen who has benefited
from buying prescriptions online to balance what you may hear from
pharmaceutical company representatives and lobbyists.
The US is one of the only industrialized countries without price
controls to protect its citizens. The cost of prescription medications
increases every year and today 45.8 million Americans are without
government or private health insurance coverage (US Census Bureau
2004 figures). Many who have to manage several chronic conditions
are forced to choose between purchasing medications versus other
life necessities.
Why are drug prices so high? While the drug industry would have
you believe the high cost of drugs in the US supports research and
development (R&D), this is untrue according to community watchdog
group Public Citizen as well as Dr. Marcia Angell, a former editor
of the New England Journal of Medicine. They say pharmaceutical
companies inflate R&D expenses in several ways, such as by reporting
R&D expenses without taking tax breaks and government grants
into consideration, and by licensing or acquiring innovative research
from government and university labs rather than developing it in-house.
According to Dr. Angell, of the $200 billion in annual revenues
Big Pharma generates selling drugs in the US, the industry spends
only $20-24 billion (10-12 per cent) on launching new drugs to the
market. Compare that to the $70 billion (35 per cent) spent on marketing
and administration!
By purchasing my medications from a licensed Canadian online pharmacy,
I realize several benefits. Foremost, I obtain the same medication
available in the US at a substantial cost saving. The quality and
effectiveness of the medication are the same, and I maintain my
health in an affordable, safe and convenient way.
I appreciate your consideration and sincerely hope you have a better
understanding of why citizens need alternatives such as online pharmacies.
<insert signature>
Senate Contact
Information
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
House of Representatives Contact Information
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml
Mailing Address
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Phone Numbers
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD
Comments: 202-456-6213
Visitors Office: 202-456-2121
E-Mail
President George W. Bush:
president@whitehouse.gov
Vice President Richard Cheney: vice.president@whitehouse.gov
Mailing Address
Office of the Prime Minister
80 Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A2
CANADA
Fax
Fax: 613-941-6900
E-Mail
Prime Minister Paul Martin: pm@pm.gc.ca
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