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In an article titled, “Spending on Lobbying Thrives,” Ismail and Bengtsson report that, “Manufacturers of pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and other health products spent nearly $182 million on federal lobbying from January 2005 through June 2006.”

According to Ismail and Bengtsson, “Twenty top drug companies (including their subsidaries) and two industry trade groups spent a total of $605 million on lobbying during the study period.”

Infant formula manufacturers Abbott Laboratories ($35.2 million), Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. ($42.5 million), and Wyeth ($29 million) were among the 20 largest pharmaceutical companies and two trade groups funding eighty percent of the drug industry’s federal lobbying during the past nine years (January 1, 1998 to March 1, 2007).

At what point does industry influence negatively impact public health?