Pharma-persuasive speech example final version

Example from Stephen Lucas
Art of Public Speaking

Take a look at these two pills.

Do you notice a difference between them?

How about these two?

Do you see a difference here?

How about these?

To the naked eye, these pills are
indistinguishable,

but at a chemical level, they are
very, very different.

In each case, the pill on the left is
real; it will help you get better.

The pill on the right is counterfeit; it
will not help you get better.

In some cases, it may even kill you.

Katherine Ivan, author of

Dangerous Doses: How Counterfeiters
Are Contaminating America's Drug Supply

explains that phony
pharmaceuticals are drugs that

have been diluted, drugs in which
the active ingredient has been

replaced with something else, or
drugs that have been relabeled to

appear as something stronger than
they truly are.

Taking a phony pharmaceutical
means that you do not receive the

medicine you need to get better,
and the results can be deadly.

I first became aware of this issue
after my younger sister received a

phony drug for her asthma last summer.

Fortunately, the error was
discovered before it cost her any

lasting harm, but I've been
concerned about the issue ever since

and did a great deal of research on
it for this speech.

As a result, I'm convinced that we
need to take action now to combat

the problem of phony pharmaceuticals.

Later in my speech, I'll share with
you my plan for curbing the spread

of these dangerous drugs.

Let's start by taking a look at the
problem.

Phony pharmaceuticals are
dangerous because of the health risks

they pose.

According to Graham Jackson,
editor of the International Journal of

Clinical Practice, "counterfeit drugs
include ingredients such as:

boric acid, gutted road paint, floor
polish, shoe polish, talcum powder,

and cement powder."

But that's not all.

There's also brick dust, chalk,
nickel, and arsenic.

Ingesting too much boric acid or
floor polish can make you sick.

Gutted road paint and arsenic can
kill you.

In one highly publicized case,
81 people in the United States died

in 2008 because they took a
counterfeit version

of the blood thinner Heparin.

As reported by CNN, the phony
Heparin was originally manufactured

outside the United States using a
cheap sulfate that proved deadly.

After slipping past all of our
regulatory checks, it ended up in the

United States with tragic results.

The US Government Bureau of
International Information Programs

estimates that 700,000 people
around the world will die this year

from phony pharmaceuticals,
almost 3 times the number of people

who live here, in Madison.

In fact, Roger Bate of the American
Enterprise Institute reports that

trafficking in counterfeit drugs has
become one of the world's fastest

growing criminal enterprises.

Phony pharmaceuticals are so
widespread that they have become

big business.

The FDA estimates that they will
bring in close to $75 billion in revenue

this year alone, up from $40 billion
only a few years ago.

Tom Cubic, head of the
Pharmaceutical Security Institute told

USA Today in September 2010 that
criminals can make more money in

counterfeit drugs than they can in heroin.

Given the rewards of the
counterfeit drug trade, the problem

will only get worse in the coming
years unless we take steps to bring

it under control.

The solution I propose is similar to
House Resolution 27-26,

which is under consideration by the
US Congress.

There are 4 steps to this solution:
first, criminal penalties for drug

counterfeiters should be increased
from 3 years in prison, which is

the current limit, to no limit at all.

If a drug peddler kills someone with
phony pharmaceuticals,

the punishment should fit the crime.

Second, the Food and Drug
Administration should have the

authority to recall prescription drugs.

Right now, the FDA can encourage
drug manufacturers to issue a recall,

but it has no power to issue a recall
on its own.

To get phony pharmaceuticals off
the street, recall authority needs to

rest with the central agency that will
act quickly and uniformly.

Third, the FDA should be given the
resources for spot checking the

chemical makeup of prescription
medication.

We have health inspectors for food.

Why not have inspectors for
prescription drugs?

Fourth, legitimate drug
manufacturers should be required to

implement track and trace technology.

As explained in the New York
Times, this technology stamps each

bottle and pill with a unique code
tied to a secure centralized database.

The code allows pharmacies and
distributors to determine whether

drugs are legitimate or phony plus
the route drugs took to get to store

shelves.

Representative Steve Israel of
New York,

sponsor of House Resolution 27-26,

says this bill will ensure that the
domestic drug supply chain is secure

for every American.

It will crack down on counterfeiting
and increase penalties for the outlaws

who are compromising our health.

The time has come for Congress to
pass this vital legislation.

In conclusion, phony
pharmaceuticals are pervasive and

dangerous.

By implementing the solution I've
outlined, we will be able to control this

public health menace.

You have the right to know that the
medication you're taking is real.

You have the right to know that
your next trip to the drug store will be

a safe one.

And you have the right to know that
what you see is what you get.

[Applause]