The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has posed an unprecedented challenge for governments. Questions regarding the most effective interventions to reduce the spread of the virus-for example, more testing, requirements to wear face masks, and stricter and longer lockdowns-become widely discussed in the popular and scientific press, informed largely by models that aimed to predict the health benefits of proposed interventions. Central to all these studies is recognition that inaction, or delayed action, will put millions of people unnecessarily at risk of serious illness or death.

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Misleading claims that appeared in the OxyContin product monograph, which understated the risks associated with the drug, were used by Purdue in its promotional practices. The time it took for Health Canada to revise the monograph may have contributed to the over-prescription epidemic in Canada.