I start a new series as of today, on the topic of Drugs. The pharmaceutical kind, that is. You know, the stuff you go to the drug store to get.
I’m not anti-drugs. There’s a time and place for them. They can save lives. And sometimes they are necessary.
But the problem is that they should be used as a bridge, to be a stopgap measure while a person is working on getting healthier.
Instead, they are the only thing the great majority of people turn to when they are not feeling well.
As a result, drug use is at an epidemic level. In the U.S., per capita drug use is one dozen. Imagine that: on average, every man, woman and child in the U.S. is taking one dozen medications.
And I’m not taking any, so that means someone is picking up the slack for me.
The thing is: if you truly want to be healthy, you need to cut down and then cut out taking any medications.
Because taking medications is one of the surest ways to end up living a High Density Lifestyle, and with it, a very unhealthy and unhappy life.
Here’s the most ironic thing: in the U.S., every child is taught the slogan, “Just say no.” And yet, what kind of a lesson is being taught when the use of prescription medication is so rampant? Where’s the “Just say no” of that?
In 2008, overall drug sales in the U.S. were $291.5 billion. Lipitor, a statin used to control cholesterol, was the top-selling drug, followed by the acid reflux medication Nexium, and Plavix, an anti-platelet agent that reduces the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Sales of cardiovascular and gastroenterology medications, as well as ones that regulate central nervous system issues like seizures, depression, pain and Alzheimer’s, accounted for half of all drug sales in 2008.
Another big seller are antidepressants – they were the third most-popular type of drug dispensed in 2008, with $9.5 billion in sales.
It’s a boom time for the depression business, as long as you’re not a psychotherapist – fewer patients are seeing psychotherapists to resolve their mental health problems. Instead, says Dr. Mark Olfson, a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University Medical Center, “there’s a greater emphasis on drugs.”
Over 3.5 billion prescriptions a year are written in the U.S. And as a consequence of all those prescriptions written, here’s no surprise – the 4th leading cause of death is medication side effects.
And the outlook for the future? With prescription volume growing exponentially year after year, it’s not good.
This is great news for the drug industry and insurance companies – drug costs are driving premiums through the roof – but not good for the rest of us.
Drugs have direct, powerful effects on human systems. Most of these effects are negative, and taking multiple drugs increases the risks. Psychologically, the growing attitude that drugs are the answer for every ache and angst is destructive for individuals and societies.
With drug advertising everywhere, what is the message being drummed into us and our children: that for every symptom and sensation the solution is a pill?
The drug industry has been the most profitable industry by far year after year, and they have no ethical problem with the totally unethical act of giving financial incentives to doctors to write prescriptions for their products.
And it goes both ways: many doctors have no ethical problem with the totally unethical act of taking financial incentives from drug companies to write prescriptions for their products.
This is a sad state of affairs, and until it changes, we are going to be stuck in the quagmire of High Density Lifestyle living.
Which means we’ll continue to have people getting sicker, with their medical needs and costs draining the system; health care costs and premiums will continue to skyrocket with less coverage and higher co-pays; and businesses will be strangled with the burden of trying to give employees health care coverage.
The answer – along with health care reform – is for people to learn how to be healthier, and one of the most important steps in seeing that happen is the reduction and elimination of prescription drug consumption.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be delving into this more.
I absolutely agree that we are a drugged-out nation! I wonder if people realize that pain has a purpose … to get our attention and become aware that something needs to change. If all we do is dull the pain, it doesn’t change the cause, it just masks the problem. I’m not saying we should dwell in pain, just that denial, avoidance, repression, and suppression actually prolong the problem and make it worse.
Yes, kids are taught that “minor” drugs lead to harder drugs … the same thing is true of prescription drugs. People need to take stronger and stronger doses, or switch medications because the body develops a tolerance. Or people who are prescribed a “temporary” medication end up thinking they have to depend on it for the rest of their lives … thank you for being an M.D. who is not a drug pusher!
Thank you for this article. I was talking about this today with my friends. I am a mental health nurse in Canada. Our government forbids advertising drugs however, ads on the US networks are not blocked. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. Pesticides and chemicals poison the earth and all living things. Big pharma and the chemical cartel are one and the same. Pesticides make us sick and then big pharma offer the treatments. I stopped running for the cure when I realized I was funding a cause that was making people sick. I believe in integrative approaches and am saddened that people are duped on this massive scale. I wonder sometimes why I am in this medical model when it is so limited. I understand for acute problems it has it’s place. I have learned from Dr. Carolyn Dean’s, “Death by Modern Medicine”, and Dr.Abramson’s, “Overdosed America.” I cringe when I see patient’s poly pharmacy regimes. I hear patients complain that they have side effects often connected to the treatments. Everyone these days seem to be on statins. They often are not told the risks that this medication degrades muscle tissue and depletes Co Q 10. Nutritional and lifestlye approaches are over looked so often. So many people do not have the knowledge or often financial means to seek out advice through naturopaths, homeopaths or other integrative practioners. I look forward to a mass awakening to stop this insanity!!! Knowledge is power and we can only hope that we reach the tipping point to shift this sick sytem before it is too late. Doctors risk losing their licence if they deviate from using drugs. Dr. Kropp spent a decade wrangling a legal battle with the medical establishment in Canada. He is a hero whose plight reached international support. He an environmental specialist (ACAM) who did not give up. His story is amazing as he grew up in Poland and always dreamed of being a doctor. He is a pediatric specialist who branched into environmental medicine. He suffered the financial and emotional pain of such a needless and senseless battle. It is madness to get in trouble for not drugging his patients and using non traditional diagnostics that are related to environmental medicine. He has a strong patient following to date. Please read about his story…….
I love Bill Maher and appreciate his sharp wit and telling it like it is!!!!!!
By the way my mother-in-law is 82 and is a dynamo. She takes no medication…..When she had cataracts the nurse asked several times in disbelief what medication she was on. She could not believe it was zero as this is an anomalie. So rare in the drugged nation. Maybe she shovels snow and dances circles around some people 1/2 her age because she does not take medication. I avoid all medications as well. I try to eat clean, organic and life a lifestyle that is low density. Thank you so much for your wisdom and inspiration. I wish we could solve this drugging and profit paradigm…..
Thanks Laurel and Lori, for your insightful comments. We have a real problem with how pharmaceuticals are marketed, and that’s unfortunate Lori that while Canada doesn’t allow for advertising of drugs, the ads can make their way into the country on the U.S. TV channels. Drug advertising on TV also used to not be allowed in the U.S., but things changed in 1997, and with that change, the doors opened to an exponential increase in the consumption of medications. Nowadays, as you point out Lori, a person is the anomaly if they are not taking any drugs, as if that’s totally wrong. If we don’t solve this problem, drug consumption will continue to skyrocket and disease rates will also skyrocket. This will eventually cause a stranglehold on the U.S. economic system. But it is in crisis when things change, so we can only hope…