[natedogg]

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Should the people at Merck be held criminally liable for their actions.

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Yes, absolutely.

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because it causes a greater-than-acceptable increased risk of heart attacks.*

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I would only ask, "greater than acceptable" to whom? Everyone has their own levels of risk they are willing to take as a trade-off for treating debilitating arthritic pain, for instance. The risks should be published honestly of course, but the decision on whether the risks are greater than acceptible or not should be made by each patient for themselves.

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So, again, you are on the jury: the junior exec whose pay and future were tied up in the success of Vioxx knew the data were fudged and submitted the falsified manuscript anyway. Should that junior exec do jail time? How much and what kind? What's red collar crime worth?

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He committed criminal fraud at the least. The risks were still quite negligible so I wouldn't go so far as to call him a murderer, but it's close. He intentionally lied to people about the risks posed for those who consumed Vioxx.

Personally I blame the FDA for this. Seriously. Ok maybe not directly the perverse incentives caused by the FDA indirectly led to the pressures that caused this lie to take place.

If we americans were treated like grownups this wouldn't have happened.

natedogg