An aspirin a day will keep the heartattack away?

Like Bayer already has done St. Joseph aspirin will now market itself as not only the fever and pain killer - but also as a heart attack prevention medication.
Whats the matter? People don't have enough headaches lately?

Quoted from OrlandoSentinel.com

"Last year, McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson &
Johnson, acquired the St. Joseph brand.



``In our studies, the St. Joseph brand had a tremendous amount of
good will among baby boomers and now those baby boomers are starting to be at risk for heart
disease,'' says Jim Massey, assistant marketing manager for the St. Joseph brand.



But the brand founded by a Bavarian immigrant will find itself in for extra strength competition from a
German compatriot as it attempts to care out a niche in the $474 million aspirin market dominated by
Bayer Corp., which invented aspirin in 1897.



Jay Kolpon, vice president of marketing for Bayer's consumer division estimates that half those taking
aspirin use it for pain relief while the remainder consume it to prevent a heart attack.



Doctors have been prescribing an aspirin a day to patients who have either had a heart attack or are
at risk for one.



There are reams of evidence to suggest that is good practice, but there are no studies which directly
compare an 81 milligram dose to a 325 milligram dose.



Aspirin can cause various stomach ailments such as ulcers so many believe that a lower dose offers
the same benefits without the risk of side effects.



The St. Joseph campaign will stress that its product only contains 81 milligrams of aspirin, making it
gentler on the stomach than 325 milligrams tablets commonly available on drug store shelves.
However, Bayer as well as generic manufacturers offer an 81 milligram dose.



``We don't think that Bayer has really promoted the 81 milligram dose. We see potential,'' said Bob
Carpenter, vice president of marketing at McNeil."

Well, as my old tutor used to say - expand market share only goes so far... Then you must expand the market. Is that what they are doing - or are they really concerned with our health?