Finding Your Pills Under a Pall

Are your medications safe, or are they harming, perhaps even killing, you? That's the question posed by J. Douglas Bremner in his new book, Before You Take that Pill: Why the Drug Industry May Be Bad for Your Health. Bremner, a physician and researcher at Emory University, serves up an unsettling scientific evaluation of more than 300 frequently prescribed drugs—from statins to sleep aids—as well as bestselling vitamins and supplements, exposing some "hidden" risks you're unlikely to find on labels. His goal: to help readers decide whether a pill's benefits are worth its potential dangers. Drawing on his own well-known research on the link between the acne drug Accutane and depression, Bremner argues that pharmaceutical companies may put their profits before your safety. While "many drugs help people live longer and better lives," he writes, "myriad others may be harmful in ways you're unaware of." The book hits stores this month.