Tuesday 23rd of April 2024
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the old restless leg syndrome .....

the old restless leg syndrome .....

Ronit Ridberg has given the world a marvellous look into the fraudulent, Big Government-Big Pharma complex with his documentary film, Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs. It's a bit dated, from 2006, but certainly, that is no hindrance to the message of the film. It's an hour long, but worth every minute of your time.

Below, I have compiled a list of some interesting points from the film. I have also included a lot of my own thoughts from my research on issues brought up in the film, so not all of the material I have presented is contained within the documentary.

Big Pharma is a monster that's long been out of control, and that is due to its chief enabler, big government, whose bureaucrats profit immensely from promoting Big Pharma's agenda to grow and protect its profits. In spite of what Michael Moore would say, this arrangement is not capitalism, or as he means it, the free market. It is state capitalism, or, as some may call it, socialist corporatism.

  • Industry professionals discuss how Big Pharma normalizes obscure health problems, making them appear common in order to create a new market with a demand for prescription drugs. One Doc interviewed calls this "disease mongering." For example, after the commercials appeared from GlaxoKlineSmith, suddenly everyone seemed to have Restless Leg Syndrome;
  • Perhaps a most disturbing trend brought up in the film is the wacky, wild world of "things just ain't right" disorders. Whether it's "generalized anxiety disorder," "major depressive disorder," "panic disorder," "acute social phobia," or finally, the celebrated "social anxiety disorder," there's a disorder to fit you and explain away your day-to-day problems. The film brings up the evil Paxil, which not only utilized direct-to-consumer marketing, but also, SmithKline Beecham took it to the print media to sell its virtues. Reporters lined up to give the drug gobs of attention as asolution for .... shyness. In 1999, US News & World Report ran a cover story, "How Shy is Too Shy?" The story referred to "debilitating shyness" and claimed that "roughly 1 out of every 8 people becomes so timid that encounters with others turn into a source of overwhelming dread." The commercial for Paxil, shown in the film, is akin to something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Also see this marvelously hilarious story by Seth Stevenson, "Extroverted Like Me: How a Month and a Half on Paxil Taught Me to Love Being Shy." Written in 2001, Seth is an introvert who experimented with Paxil for forty-five days so he could write a splendid story highlighting the ineffectiveness and life-changing aspects of a powerful, mind-altering drug;
  • Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a fabricated "disorder." Sarafem, the drug created to treat the non-condition, was nothing more than Prozac repackaged for a new disease. Eli Lilly was losing its exclusive patent to Prozac. Drug patents, as we know, bring drug companies billions in revenues. Sarafem was Prozac, except that it was colored a pretty pink - such a pretty and precious detail for a lady going on her monthly psychotic binge and emotional release. So, an old drug, a new disorder, and a new patent, and Eli Lilly could make a bundle, at least until (or if) the deception caught on with drug consumers.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/decoster/decoster165.html

the envy of the world

"We have the greatest health care system in the world. Sure, it has flaws, but it saves lives in ways that other countries can only dream of. Abroad, people sit on waiting lists for months, so why should we squander billions of dollars to mess with a system that is the envy of the world? As Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama puts it, President Obama’s plans amount to “the first step in destroying the best health care system the world has ever known.”

That self-aggrandizing delusion may be the single greatest myth in the health care debate. In fact, America’s health care system is worse than Slov—er, oops, more on that later.

MEANWHILE:

The US House of Representatives has backed a healthcare bill in a step towards reforms promised by President Obama, despite strong opposition.

Passed in a narrow 220-215 vote, the bill aims to extend coverage to 36 million more Americans and provide affordable healthcare to 96%.

The bill now has to be reconciled with a separate Senate draft law.

President Obama has made reform of America's healthcare system a central plank of his domestic agenda.

He described Saturday's vote in the House as "historic", saying he was "absolutely confident" the Senate would also back it.

Correspondents say the legislation could lead to the biggest changes in American healthcare in decades.

ugly pharma monopolies...

PATIENTS risk being confused and left short of essential medicines because of drug manufacturers' aggressive selling of highly profitable generic drugs, some pharmacists say.

Sydney pharmacist Joe Saleh said drug companies were trying to exploit the federal government's subsidy protections for drugs about to go off patent - which make them exceptionally lucrative for dispensers - to lock pharmacists into contracts.

Mr Saleh said drug manufacturers were bypassing wholesalers and marketing direct to pharmacies, imposing new terms and conditions which jeopardised stock deliveries and raised the chance patients would have to switch between multiple brands of the same medicine.


Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/health/generic-drug-subsidy-puts-patients-at-risk-as-companies-try-to-cash-in-20120401-1w6mv.html#ixzz1qrqTBliZ

vioxxing...

ARE American lives cheaper than those of the Chinese? It's a question raised by Ron Unz, publisher of The American Conservative, who has produced a compelling comparison between the way the Chinese dealt with one of their drug scandals – melamine in baby formula - and how the US handled the Vioxx aspirin-substitute disaster.

Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/us/46535/when-half-million-americans-died-and-nobody-noticed#ixzz1tEvmAXC0

sleeping with no memory left...

Main outcome measure 

The association between Alzheimer’s disease and benzodiazepine use started at least five years before diagnosis was assessed by using multivariable conditional logistic regression. Ever exposure to benzodiazepines was first considered and then categorised according to the cumulative dose expressed as prescribed daily doses (1-90, 91-180, >180) and the drug elimination half life.

Results Benzodiazepine ever use was associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease (adjusted odds ratio 1.51, 95% confidence interval 1.36 to 1.69; further adjustment on anxiety, depression, and insomnia did not markedly alter this result: 1.43, 1.28 to 1.60). No association was found for a cumulative dose <91 prescribed daily doses. The strength of association increased with exposure density (1.32 (1.01 to 1.74) for 91-180 prescribed daily doses and 1.84 (1.62 to 2.08) for >180 prescribed daily doses) and with the drug half life (1.43 (1.27 to 1.61) for short acting drugs and 1.70 (1.46 to 1.98) for long acting ones).

Conclusion Benzodiazepine use is associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The stronger association observed for long term exposures reinforces the suspicion of a possible direct association, even if benzodiazepine use might also be an early marker of a condition associated with an increased risk of dementia. Unwarranted long term use of these drugs should be considered as a public health concern.

read more: http://www.bmj.com/content/349/bmj.g5205