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My dad the cardiologist got free family holidays from Pfizer to prescribe their drugs

5 February, 2026 · 1,630,348 views · 10,917 likes · 999 reposts

My dad is a cardiologist and when I was a kid we had holidays paid for by Pfizer, Bayer, Novartis, Merck etc.

There'd be a 2-hour presentation of the drugs they wanted you to prescribe, and it was kinda implicit, if you made them money, they'd get you on more free holidays for your entire family

We stopped going on these trips, as my dad felt conflicted, and then a few years later the Netherlands banned that

Then instead of free holidays the gifts turned into free pens and notepads 😂

So I personally know VERY well the influence pharmaceuticals have on doctors prescribing drugs, which they still do in lots of countries

Even in the Netherlands it didn't stop, there's other ways for pharmaceuticals to bribe doctors, like donating to millions their "research fund" which the doctors then use for "research trips"

Painkiller on Netflix is a great documentary that also talks about this with regards to OxyContin, but it happens with all drugs and even medical devices, and no it never stopped!

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