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Responsible Medicine3/21/2005 1:11:00 PM To: National Desk, Health and Medical
reporters Contact: Howard White of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine,
202-686-2210 ext. 339, or
http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=44662&Link=mailto:hwhite@pcrm.o
rgPALM BEACH, Fla., March 21 /U.S. Newswire/ --
Seeking to quash the release of what are sure to be damaging and embarrassing
documents on the safety and efficacy of the famed Atkins diet, lawyers for Atkins Nutritionals
Inc., admitted last Monday in court that they are willing to "assume the diet is dangerous" --
the first public admission of any kind that dieters following the Atkins Diet may face real and
severe health risks, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) reported
today.In a hearing before Palm Beach County Judge Susan Lubitz on March 14, Atkins'
lawyers argued that discovery -- the pretrial exchange of information between parties under
court supervision -- on matters relating to the diet's safety was unnecessary because they
were prepared to concede that the regimen does pose health risks for purposes of an
upcoming motion. Atkins' attorneys sought to avoid discovery, asking the court instead to
move directly to arguments as to why the case should be dismissed.Judge Lubitz rejected
Atkins' argument, ruling that she needed to hear the plaintiff's discovery requests first. She
ordered discovery to proceed as part of the lawsuit filed last year by Jody Gorran, a Florida
businessman who developed near-fatal heart disease after two years on the high-fat,
low-carbohydrate Atkins Diet.Attorneys for Atkins now face a March 29 court-ordered deadline
to respond to Mr. Gorran's motion to require Atkins to produce relevant documents and
information dealing with the diet's safety and on the marketing of the Atkins Diet books and
food products as safe."Atkins' conspiracy of silence is about to crack wide open," said Dan
Kinburn, Gorran's lead attorney and senior counsel for the Physicians Committee for
Responsible Medicine. "We contend that Atkins has known for years, if not decades, that the
regimen poses a real danger to significant numbers of dieters and has suppressed that
information for commercial gain."Among the information requested in discovery, said
Kinburn, are the complete medical records of the late Dr. Robert Atkins, inventor of the Atkins
Diet. Atkins died in April 2003 in a fall outside his New York offices. Medical records taken by
the NY medical examiners office show that Atkins was overweight at the time of his death,
tipping the scales at nearly 260 pounds, and may have had cardiovascular disease. There
has long been speculation that Atkins suffered from coronary artery disease. A year before
his death, he suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting for breakfast. Atkins and his private
physician issued statements claiming that the episode was caused by cardiomyopathy, an
inflammation of the heart muscle, and not the result of arterial blockage.For an interview with
lead attorney Dan Kinburn or plaintiff Jody Gorran, contact Howard White at 202-686-2210 ext.
339, or at
http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=44662&Link=mailto:hwhite@pcrm.org
Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health
organization that promotes preventive medicine, especially good nutrition. PCRM also
conducts clinical research, opposes unethical experimentation, and promotes alternatives to
animal
research.http://releases.usnewswire.com/redir.asp?ReleaseID=44662&Link=http://www.usn
ewswire.com/-0-/© 2005 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
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