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Research on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) ended early for theWomen's Health Initiative, when in July their research found anincreased risk of heart attack, stroke, breast cancer and blood clotsin women who used HRT for five years or more. The results of thestudy were printed in the Journal of the American Medical Association. For years "HRT was touted as preventing bone loss, heart disease,Alzheimer's disease, cancer and wrinkles and as a way to improvewomen's sex life and make them more beautiful." (MultinationalMonitor, July/August 2002)

Despite these claimed benefits, the drugs where not compared toplacebos in random control studies. The mass marketing of hormonepills began in 1966 and by 1975, " Premairn, the leading estrogenpill, was one of the top five most prescribed drugs in the UnitedStates." Between the years 1966 and 1975, it was found that a leadingfigure involved in promoting the wonders of estrogen had been financedby one of the top drug companies that sold Premairn. Even thoughthere had been questions raised over the years regarding the validityof HRT, "Estrogen pill sales rose from 13.6 million prescriptions in1982 to 31.7 million in 1992."