Ban the Boondoggles

THE ALL-EXPENSES PAID trips to resorts in Puerto Rico and Florida for doctors and their spouses, including cruises, spa treatments, cash payments, and other perks — were organized by Parke-Davis under the guise of advisory board, consultant, and speaker training meetings. But the real purpose of the trips was to induce doctors to prescribe the epilepsy medication Neurontin for off-label uses and to recommend it to others. In other words, the trips were kickbacks under federal law.