Which is worse?

The bias of this lead:

Ten of the 32 government drug advisers who last week endorsed continued marketing of the huge-selling pain pills Celebrex, Bextra and Vioxx have consulted in recent years for the drugs' makers, according to disclosures in medical journals and other public records.

. . . or the fact that they had done consulting for drug companies? Do we want these panels to be dominated by Ralph Nader associates? But they took money from these, . . . CORPORATIONS! EEK!

So what? Paul Krugman consulted for Enron. If that's all it takes to make you dishonest, what's he doing as a columnist on economics for the Times?

Should Vioxx be studied more? Yes.

Should it be summarily taken off the market? No. COX-2 inhibitors are medicines that prevent anti-inflammatory drugs from also being anti-stomach protecting secretions in the GI tract. I take several anti-inflammatories for rheumatoid arthritis, and because they can cause ulcers and GERD, a sort of chronic heartburn that damages the esophagous, I have to take a generic form of Prilosec. A few weeks ago, I forgot those caps for about a week, and I can vouch for the value of a drug like Vioxx. I take 1000 mg of naproxen every day, which can cause ulcers that have no symptoms until they nearly kill you.