This “last word” on HRT is just another dangerous sales pitch

Shame! How dare they keep pushing this poison

I’ve got to give it to them. Their legs must be exhausted. I mean, 11 years of back-pedaling has to take it out of you!

The “they” I’m talking about is the honchos running the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).

WHI’s massive study first linked HRT to serious health risks back in 2002. In fact, in a nearly unparalleled move, they actually voluntary stopped parts of the study because they felt it put woman at too great a risk.

Since then it’s been a relentless stream of bad news from the WHI.

Still ever since that 2002 announcement, the WHI has tried to rewind and serve its masters by making the news seem less…well, dire.

And this new blast is no exception. The PR department at the WHI is putting its Big Pharma relationship front and center. Women’s lives…not so much.

A desperation move

This is the key detail women aren’t hearing this time around…

In a 2008 study, heart risks were the highest soon after women started taking HRT.

Now, the WHI issued their absolute final report about HRT. They say it’s safe for women under age 60, but ONLY short term.

And what is “short term”? When should women stop using it? In a month? A year? Two years? At what point does “short term” turn into “long term” and become dangerous?

Well, if we go by WHI’s own 2008 study, the danger appears to kick in with the first dose.

Just one dose! (If that wouldn’t qualify as “short term,” what would?)

See, they’re spinning all this as new. But five years ago they already said that HRT was only safe when taken for “the shortest time possible.”

So what’s the difference between 2008 and 2013? Simple. This time, they’re basically launching a marketing campaign.

WHI is pushing through this last ditch attempt to placate Big Pharma and convince women under age 60 that using HRT is perfectly safe.

“Trust us. All that stuff we warned you about like heart attacks, blood clots, and strokes…don’t worry about that. (Not until your second dose anyway…)”

Yes, the risk is higher for women over 60. But that doesn’t mean there’s an “all clear” signal for younger women.

The WHI proved without a doubt that chemically created HRT is potentially life-threatening to women of every age. They know it and they’ve spent more than a decade trying to find a way to put a positive spin on it. And still this is the best they can come up with.

Sources:
“Menopausal Hormone Therapy and Health Outcomes During the Intervention and Extended Poststopping Phases of the Women’s Health Initiative Randomized Trials” Journal of the American Medical Association, Vol. 310, No. 13, jama.jamanetwork.com

“The Last Word On Hormone Therapy From the Women’s Health Initiative” Nancy Shute, NPR, 10/4/13, npr.org