WASHINGTON, March 4 (UPI) -- Doctors are still being showered by gifts from the pharmaceutical industry, despite the industry's promise to stop three years ago, a U.S. official said.
Dr. Janet Woodcock, acting deputy commissioner for operations of the Food and Drug Administration, told a Senate panel Thursday the drug industry spent billions annually -- far more than it spends on research -- in an effort to persuade doctors to prescribe specific drugs.
Woodcock said during a break in the hearing drug companies still invited doctors on free cruises and to resorts in exotic places, the New York Times reported Friday.
In 2002, the drug industry approved a voluntary code of conduct that discouraged expensive gifts to doctors.
"If Dr. Woodcock has any examples of violations, we urge her to call the companies involved," said Jeff Trewhitt, a spokesman for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
