Drug Firms’ Touch Light at Disease Talk

Like TV talk shows, informational luncheons sometimes have both hosts and sponsors.

About 275 people with emphysema and chronic bronchitis, plus caregivers and medical professionals gathered in a ballroom at the Marriott hotel for a “town hall informational luncheon” Wednesday. The invitation-only event was hosted by the American Lung Association of Southeast Florida. But it was sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals and Pfizer, drug firms promoting the Spiriva HandiHaler, a newly approved treatment for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, known as COPD.

In other words, the drug companies paid for the ballroom, catering and speakers’ honoraria, and the American Lung Association lent its local organizing skills.

“We’ve done this before with other groups,” said Jim Sugarman, executive director of the association’s local chapter. “We don’t have a problem with it because it serves a major educational purpose for the clients we serve. To me, it’s not about promotion, it’s about awareness.”

The association has a policy of working with pharmaceutical companies while not endorsing specific products.

“You’ll see almost no reference to the medication at all,” Sugarman said before the luncheon. “Very little.”

He was right. If the makers of Spiriva were hoping for heavy- handed endorsements at the luncheon, they were disappointed. Of the three speakers, which included an emphysema patient and a respiratory therapist, only Dr. Richard Pomerantz, a Palm Beach Gardens pulmonary specialist, mentioned the product at all.

After noting that its makers had sponsored the luncheon, Pomerantz called Spiriva “a small revolution in the field. A majority of the people I have started on it have found it to be a little more effective than other treatments.”

The bulk of his speech was devoted to a general description of the difference between asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, its effects, common treatments and the role of smoking.

“I would have to go into a different profession if nobody smoked,” Pomerantz said, “and I’d be happy to do it.”

For more information, call (800) 330-LUNG (5864) or visit www.lungusa.org.

ron_hayes@pbpost.com

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

WHAT IS IT: A group of lung diseases, especially emphysema and chronic bronchitis, characterized by obstruction that interferes with normal breathing.

HOW COMMON: Known as COPD, it is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, responsible for 120,000 deaths in 2002 alone, and the only disease among the top five that continues an upward trend.

WHO SUFFERS: Women have surpassed men in the number of deaths attributed to the disease, with 61,000 women dying in 2002 compared with 59,000 men.

CAUSE: Smoking is the primary risk factor and is responsible for up to 90 percent of deaths. Other risk factors include secondhand smoke, repeated childhood respiratory infections, exposure to industrial pollutants and heredity.

TREATMENT: No existing medications have been shown to slow the decline of lung function. Doctors prescribe bronchodilator medications, antibiotics and oxygen therapy to decrease symptoms.

Source: American Lung Association.