Pfizer hands out free drugs for newly unemployed

Yesterday, Pfizer announced it would give a year's worth of drugs to people unemployed since January 1, and who have taken Pfizer drugs for at least three months. The rational: the company likely wants to keep its market share while helping those in need. Doesn't sound like a bad idea on the surface, until you consider a few of the drugs that are up for the taking including the top-selling drugs Lipitor, Viagra and Celebrex.

Lipitor is the most-prescribed drug in the U.S., but it's also one of the more costly drugs to treat high cholesterol at $101 to $145 for a month's supply. For those with mild to moderate high cholesterol (people who need to lower their "bad" LDL cholesterol by less than 30 percent), Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs has long-recommended generic Lovastatin that costs between $18 and $45. Many big-box retailers like Walgreens offer a 90-day fill for about $4 a month or less.

Celebrex is generally used to treat osteoarthritis, but according to hundreds of medical studies, Celebrex doesn't work any better than any other drug in this category (NSAIDs—Non-Steroidal, Anti-Inflammatory Drugs). An average dose of ibuprofen, naproxen or diclofenac is just as effective as Celebrex. And Celebrex, is a drain on the wallet too at up to $296 for a month's supply .

And Viagra, well, the jokes are all there, ready for the taking.

One curiosity though: do you think Pfizer's news today is related to all the Health Reform meetings this week with President Obama? Seems like their PR folks are hard at work…

—Lisa Gill, editor, Prescription Drugs