7/25/2019 Gov. Peter Shumlin's letter to drug companies

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PETER SHUMLINGovernor

State of Vermont

OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR

February 10, 2016

Mr. Joji Nakayama

President and CEO, Daiichi Sankyo2 Hilton Court

Parsippany, NJ 07054

Mr. Pascal Soriot

Executive Director and CEO, AstraZeneca1800 Concord Pike

Wilmington, DE 19850

Dear Mr. Soriot and Mr. Nakayama,

Like many Americans, I was baffled by the commercial your companies paid an estimated

$10 million to air during the Super Bowl. In the midst of Americas opiate and heroin addiction

crisis the advertisement was not only poorly timed, it was a shameful attempt to exploit that crisis

to boost your companies profits.

Pain management in America is too reliant on FDA-approved opiates. In 2012, enough

opiate prescriptions were written to give every American their own bottle of pills. The irrational

exuberance with which opiates are handed out in America is driving the addiction crisis in this

country. Now is the time to change that, not attempt to further normalize long-term opiate use byadvertising a drug to help people take even more opiates during the most watched sporting event

of the year.

I ask that you immediately pull this advertisementand others promoting this drugfrom

the air and instead use the money to fund opiate and heroin prevention efforts. If your profits are

such that they allow you to spend millions of dollars for one advertisement, surely you can join

everyone from President Obama to those providing addiction treatment services on the front lines

in fighting Americas opiate addiction crisis.

Sincerely,

Peter Shumlin

Governor