Alan Cassels

Who are you?

I am a Canadian researcher, author andjournalist who has spent most of the last 30 years researching and writingabout the gaps between evidence and marketing particularly in the worlds of pharmaceuticaland medical-screening research. I have made a career of publicizing the rolesof various actors and forces involved in the manufacturing of patients.  

What is your role in FICEBO?

My role is to serve as both a learner, deepeningmy understanding of FICEBO’s work, and a promoter, championing andcommunicating its unique contributions to the advancement of medical science.

Favorite part of your job?

The best part of my work is that it doesn’tfeel like a traditional ‘job’ but an endeavor that is endlessly engaging, oftendeeply illuminating and wholly impactful. The best job in the world is onewhere you face every day with purpose and enthusiasm.

Why did you decide to enter your field?

The first drug policy study I worked on (30years ago) was to design an evidence-based consumer’s guide toosteoporosis.  This two-year study waslike getting a PhD in evidence-based medicine, data manipulation, marketingscience, and the psychology of public relations.  I am pretty sure that if I didn’t witnessfirsthand the astonishing development of a major market for the world’s firstblockbuster osteoporosis drug, I would never have become an activist forresearch integrity.  Osteoporosis wasonly the tip of the iceberg and I soon saw the selling of sickness everywhere Ilooked in medicine. That became the title of my first book and led to a meetingwith Teppo.

Who/What inspires you?

People who possess the courage and humilityto pursue the truth no matter what obstacles stand in their way.  Also most inspiring to me are artists,particularly musicians, who break barriers and bring joy and sustenance to thesoul.

The most interesting article you’ve readrecently?

It wasn’t an article, but a book that Iread recently, called Plays Well With Others by Eric Barker.  He uses science to examine our beliefs aboutrelationships and suggests ways for us to better exist with our fellow humanbeings.  No one, as far as I can tell,has ever tried to document the evidence lying beneath our beliefs aboutrelationships even though our relationships are incredibly vital to a full andhealthy life.  The better we are atdeveloping and maintaining our relationships, the happier and healthier we willall be.  In July 2025 I took this book ona gruelling seven-day mountain bike trip in the high altitude mountains ofUtah, and it produced some really lively conversations with my cycling buddiesabout the nature of friendship.

Your favorite book and why?

I have many favorite books but one of thebooks I’ve read and reread is the 1984 book Influence: The Psychology ofPersuasion by the American psychologist Robert Cialdini. He develops a taxonomyof influence and I have many times used his insights to understand the manyforces at play in the world of pharmaceutical marketing.  I have come to believe that the ‘science’behind persuasion is probably 50 years older than the science of evidence-basedmedicine and that unless we truly understand those ‘evidence-informed’ ways of influencingour thinking we will always be at the mercy of persuasion specialists.  I really enjoy books that can weave realfield experience into a coherent narrative of how the world works.

‍