Is whistle blowing an act of courage, betrayal or revenge? It depends on what end of the whistle you're on, and boy was Pfizer on the wrong side of that whistle this week.

Pfizer was fined a record $2.3 billion for the illegal marketing of the pain medication Bextra. The drug giant was caught promoting Bextra – along with 12 other medications - for a number of unapproved uses and doses, putting thousands of patients at increased risk for heart attacks and strokes in the process. These dangerous schemes may never have come to light if not for the brave actions of John Kopchinski, a Gulf War veteran and former Pzifer sales representative. When asked why he risked his job to unveil Pfizer's illegal activities, he said he couldn't live with endangering people's lives.

"In the Army, I was expected to protect people at all costs," said Kopchinski. "At Pfizer I was expected to increase profits at all costs, even when sales meant endangering lives. I couldn't do that."

For his bravery, the government made Kopchinski the wealthiest informant in history. He is now whistling to the tune of $51.5 million!

Whistleblowers usually don't get it that good, so I wanted to take a moment to highlight three of the most important health whistleblowers in recent memory...

1) Jeffrey S. Wigand

Possibly the most famous whistleblower in the United States, Wigand was immortalized in the movie The Insider for his heroic stance against the Brown and Williamson Tobacco Company. He exposed the industry's chemical alteration of nicotine to make it more addictive and carcinogenic. This was neither an easy or safe move to make.

"My children have received death threats, (and) my reputation and character have been attacked systematically in an organized smear campaign," Wigand recalls.

His efforts led to a myriad of lawsuits against Big Tobacco – many of which continue to this day. Now he travels the world lecturing teenagers about the dangers of smoking through his non-profit organization Smoke-Free Kids Inc.

2) Dr. David Graham

Dr. Graham sounded the alarm about Merck's blockbuster anti-inflammatory Vioxx after early tests showed the drug led to a 500% increase in heart attacks. The FDA ignored his concerns and Vioxx went on to became one of the most deadly drugs ever released. Overall, it was linked to 27,000 strokes, heart attacks and deaths nationwide.

In order to stop Dr. Graham from testifying before congress, FDA officials orchestrated a smear campaign against him, going as far as accusing him of scientific misconduct and calling him "a demagogue and a bully". The charges never stuck and Dr. Graham continued his work at the FDA - though in an understandably uncomfortable position.

"Upper management avoids me and doesn't talk to me," Dr. Graham notes. "They don't call me in to consult on things that I should be consulted on even though I am the senior epidemiologist in the Office of Drug Safety...basically I feel like I'm in the Gulag."

3) David Franklin

Franklin exposed drug maker Parke-Davis for illegal promotion of the epilepsy drug Neurontin for bipolar disorder, pain, migraine headaches, and drug and alcohol withdrawal – conditions in which the drug was proven to be wholly ineffective.

Parke-Davis pleaded guilty to the charges and was fined $430 million. And guess who paid that fine? Pfizer, the new owner of Parke-Davis! I guess $430 million wasn't enough to learn that lesson – hopefully the $2.3 billion will make a bigger impact on Pfizer management...

Let's hope that those who don't have consciences quite as strong as Kopchinski will at least be inspired by the huge reward he received and will step forward and expose this corporate and government misconduct before we see another Vioxx, Neurontin or Bextra.