B—The Daily Collegian Friday, July 8, 1977
Generic drugs,
money savers
Thanks' to a state law passed last November, consumers
may be able to save money on prescription drugs.
The Pennsylvania Generic Drug Act permits pharmacists to
substitute cheaper generic drugs for brand name drugs with
the permission of the prescribing physician.
A generic drug is one that is identified by its chemical name
rather than an advertised brand name. Because generic drugs
are not advertised, they are cheaper.
Under the current provisions, a doctor is required by law to
indicate on a prescription whether or not a generic drug may
be substituted for a brand name equivalent. If the doctor
wants a specific brand name drug for his patient, he must
write on the prescription that a generic drug cannot be sub
stituted for it. Otherwise, a generic drug will be used to fill the
prescription.
Previousl4, a pharmacist was permitted to dispense only
the drug written on the prescription. Usually, a brand name
drug was prescribed, since many physicians are unfamiliar
with chemical drug names.
A consumer can save about 25 to 30 per cent on generic
drugs, according to Craig R. Duke, pharmacy manager at
Rite Aid Prescription Center on S. Allen Street. People on
maintainance medication, such as elderly people with chronic
heart problems, can save about 40 to 50 per cent.
Most generic drugs are antibiotics like penicillin, Duke said,
but they are not the store's best-selling drugs.
Birth control pills, he said, are his top sellers, but they are
only available from brand name companies.
A state Department of Health official said generic birth
control pills will be available' "hopefully within the next 12
months." Their price, however, "is probably about as low as it
will go" now because of the product's highly competitive
market.
Oil flows after pipeline repaired
FAIRBANKS, Alaska (UPI) The $9
billion Alyeska pipeline resumed
pumping Alaska's North Slope oil
yesterday when workmen completed
repair of a leaking pipe joint which
forced a three:day shutdown of the 800-
mile system.
Replacement of the faulty ,piece of
pipe, which had been leaking nitrogen in
advance of the oil flow, took longer than
expected, but a spokesman said there
was no problem in restarting the
pumping once the repairs were made.
Technicians of Alyeska Pipeline
Services Co. said the probable cause of
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cracks in an elbow section of pipe at
Pump Station No. 8, at the 433-mile mark
south of the line's beginning at Prudhoe
Bay, was the collection of super cold
nitrogen at the bottom of the elbow.
The shutdown was ordered Monday
when nitrogen was detected leaking
from the pump station southeast of
Fairbanks. At that time the oil front was
about 15 miles to the north, and halting
the flow prevented any possibility of an
oil leak.
Before pumping began on June 20,
nitrogen was sent through the line to
force out air and oxygen and eliminate
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The easiest way to get a generic drug is to ask your doctor to
prescribe one, the official said. But sometimes a doctor will
insist on a brand name. -
Dr. Paul L. Carney of State College said the main reason a
doctor will insist on a brand name is "to be sure of quality"
over a drug made by "some bastard outfit."
But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration "has become
very fussy over the past ten years," he added, so that generics
should be as safe and effective as brand name drugs. Generics
must also be approved by the state Department of Health.
Not all brand name drugs have a generic equivalent. Some
brand names are protected by a seven-year patent so that no
generic equivalents may be marketed until the patent expires.
generic
drugs
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the possibility of fire. At various points
along the line new nitrogen is introduced
to replace the gas as some of it is
vented by the pressure of the oil flow.
An - Alyeska spokesman said the
nitrogen is in liquid form at minus 290
degrees before it is• pumped•from tanks
into the pipeline. The liquid nitrogen
vaporizes as it leaves the tanks, but
technicians at the scene of the fractured
section said they believed some of the
nitrogen entered in liquid instead of
gaseous form and the shock of the ex
treme cold caused several cracks.
Committee changes not foreseen
GOP committee chairman dies
It is too early to assess the effect that the death yesterday of
Eugene Fulmer, chairman of the Centre County Republican
Committee, will have on the Centre County Republican party,
according to several prominent county Republicans.
Ruth Myers, who, as party vice chairman, will succeed
Fulmer, said that she foresaw no changes in the immediate
future. Although as chairman of the party Myers has the
authority to replace personnel originally appointed by
Fulmer, she has no such plans.
"I think everything should remain as is," she said
Fulmer, who represented Centre County in the state House
of Representatives from 1959 to 1970, died yesterday at the
Hershey' Medical Center after undergoing surgery June 30.
The cause of death was not announced. He was 59...
Myers said that she was shocked by Fulmer's death and that
she would need "time to think things over" before she made
any changes within the party. .
State Senator J. Doyle Corman said that it would be difficult
to judge what impact Fulmer's death will have.
Gypsy moth problem 'hopeless'
By CURT SMITH
Collegian Staff Writer
Pennsylvanians can expect little if any
relief from the current gypsy moth in
vasion, according to experts who spoke
last night at the County Courthouse in
Bellefonte.
James 0. Nichols, chief of the Division
of Forest Pest Management for the State
Department of Environmental
Resources, described the onslaught as
"astronomical."
"It's bad now," he said, "and it's
going to be worse next year."
The federal government has devoted
four years of research and $2l million to
the problem.
"We're not much better off than when
the research began," he said.
State Senator J. Doyle Corman, R
-34th, said the pests are closing in on the
more populated areas of Centre County
and will be quite a problem in the near
future.
Corman also said the various methods
used to fight the moths in recent years
haVe not been very fruitful.
DDT proved to be quite effective
against the moths, but its general use
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By CHRIS HEPP
Collegian Staff Writer
Good at both locations:
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400 W. College Ave.
offer valid July 8 —lO
Good at both locatiOns:
111 Sowers St.
400 W. College Ave.
offer valid July 8 10
was outlawed in 1963. Other pesticides
have been less successful. -
Nichols said the government is looking
into methods of fighting the insects
besides spraying.
"Our primary consideration is getting
more of the moths' natural enemies into
the area," he said.
William G. Yendol, a University en
tomologist, said that the necessary flies
and wasps would take care of no more
than 60 per cent of the moths.
Although Nichols said the predators
could eliminate as much as 80 per cent of
the moths, 95 per cent would have to be
eradicated or "you get the problem right
•
back."
Yendol
the University was
Ammerman to attend picnic
Congressman Joseph S. Ammerman,
D-23rd, is scheduled to make an ap
pearance at a picnic at the Spring Mills
Fish and Game Grounds on Sunday, July
10, at 2 p.m.
The picnic, which is being held' .in
Ammerman's honor, is being sponsored
"I don't think that anyone can make an accurate guess," he
said.
Corm,an said that while Fulmer was not as strong in state
politics as he once was, he would be very difficult to replace.
"He always kept Centre County in a good light," Corman
said, because of his ability to spot leading candidates for high
state offices and gaining county support for them early in a
campaign.
Lula Witherow, former Republican state committeewoman,
was saddened by Fulmer's death but looked to the future. "I
think we may be able to pick up the pieces and build a stronger
party," she said.
Loretta Willits, who lost the chairmanship to Fulmer last
year, also said she expected little change within the party.
Fulmer, a 1948 Penn State graduate, was serving as director
of research for intergovernmental affairs for the House
Republican caucus at the time of his death.
Fulmer, a Lancaster County native, is survived by his
parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Fulmer, and a sister, Mrs. Ethel
_
Good.
Funeral services are being arranged by the Koch Funeral
Home, State College and will be announced later.
by the Centre County Democratic
Committee. It will feature a pony ride,•
childrens' prizes, and food and drink for
all. C. Guy Rudy, committee chairman;
_urged everyone at the committee
'meeting Thursday night to bring their,
friends. t...
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working on a virus that would kill the
moth larvae after consumption of the;
virus. He added that it was harmless to;
humans and animals.
Nichols said only "high value" areas,
such as, residential areas and parks,
were being sprayed due to a lack of state
funds.
"As long as we protect the residential
areasiAlthere will be few complaints," he
said.
Edward Eckess.of the U.S. , Depart
ment of Agriculture was less
pessimistic. •
"There are many positive approaches
to take if the community wants to take
them," he said.
..
Admission Free
Good at both locations:
111 Sowers St. ,
400 W. College Ave.
offer valid July 8 10
Good at both locations:
111 Sowers St.
400 W. College Ave.
ofiqr valid July-8 —lO
July 7 & 8 -
8:00 p.m. =