Alternet: "How Big Pharma Preps You to Buy Drugs You Probably Don't Need"

For those living in countries with Direct-to-Consumer advertising, you're likely familiar with this issue, but we all need to be smart and skeptical about medications. They all come with risks and side effects.

 

http://www.alternet.org/drugs/big-pharma-preps-you-buy-drugs-you-dont-need#.V1IVsxL3YTU.twitter

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Excellent article Lapis!  Glad to see big pharma a bit more under the microscope these days.  Good to know their evasive tactics, too.  Going to check out the askapatient.com website to see what people say about their experiences with benzos.  Glad the website is free from Pharma influence.  Their treachery and greed seem to know no bounds...

I really do think some things are changing -- even if it's taking too long. We can't "un-know" what we all know now about Big Pharma. The news stories abound, especially with the recent discussion of Prince's death by opioids.

I really do think some things are changing -- even if it's taking too long. We can't "un-know" what we all know now about Big Pharma. The news stories abound, especially with the recent discussion of Prince's death by opioids.

 

It seems like it is not just because of one man’s recent death. I think it has been slowly escalating to this climactic point of exposure given the accumulation of ALL the high profile deaths and tragic events in the last decade (and even further back).

 

And the Internet I feel has been a force to reckon with, due to its ability to provide COMPLETE worldwide public exposure to these tragic deaths and events.

 

 

I agree. I certainly didn't mean to imply that Prince's death was a catalyst for a new discussion or anything. It came as the statistics about deaths due to opioids were mounting in both the US and Canada. Here in Canada, Oxycontin deaths brought this opioid story to all of us a number of years ago, and it has been in the news pretty much ever since. Of course, celebrity deaths seem to focus some people's attention, but there's plenty of sad news to go around without the additional celebrity hoopla.

 

Anyway, education is the key, so if all of these sad and unnecessary deaths mean that people perk up and listen to the info that has been coming out for awhile now, then hopefully some good will come out of it.

I agree. I certainly didn't mean to imply that Prince's death was a catalyst for a new discussion or anything. It came as the statistics about deaths due to opioids were mounting in both the US and Canada. Here in Canada, Oxycontin deaths brought this opioid story to all of us a number of years ago, and it has been in the news pretty much ever since. Of course, celebrity deaths seem to focus some people's attention, but there's plenty of sad news to go around without the additional celebrity hoopla.

 

Anyway, education is the key, so if all of these sad and unnecessary deaths mean that people perk up and listen to the info that has been coming out for awhile now, then hopefully some good will come out of it.

 

 

It does seem like the more known a person is the greater the public awareness becomes on whatever the issue.

 

But what will be interesting is if Prince’s untimely death widens the focus of public awareness to what I feel is a silent “genocide” of those unfortunate enough to have gotten ensnared by the long term use of one or both of the following classes of drugs, benzodiazepines and z-drugs.

 

I use the word “genocide” because I do feel strongly about how devastating this entire travesty is….and continues to be at an alarming rate.

 

These drugs have robbed people of their “lives,” people who are still walking amongst us…me included.

Well, since his death didn't involve a benzo or a z-drug, I doubt it will have such an effect. Whitney Houston, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger and other celebs DID have benzos in their systems at the time of their deaths, but the attention on such things was short-lived, as far as I remember. I did post about this a short time ago here in the News section.

 

I'm not sure what it will take to raise awareness. Benzos and z-drugs aren't likely to cause death on their own. It's usually a combo of benzo plus opioid and/or alcohol that could slow one's respiration enough to cause death. As we all know, lots of people (and doctors) think these drugs are relatively benign. Sadly. 

 

My entire benzo/z-drug experience has exponentially raised all red flags in my mind as to the credibility of ALL publicized toxicology reports of high profile individuals.

 

I know that’s extreme thinking, but my thinking has been influenced by what I experienced/witnessed on a personal level during my benzo/z-drug journey. This journey has made me even more alert to questioning the validity of anything remotely associated with the pharmaceutical companies.

 

I do not know when my trust in this area of life will be restored to pre-benzo status. In the mean time, I cannot help but see any media report connected to the subject of medications with a critical eye.

 

Thanks Lapis for being so diligent in posting on this board. It is like entering a library.

Hey BlueRose, thanks for all your input! I really appreciate hearing from others on all of these topics.

 

Knowledge is power when it comes to all of this, so the more people know about it, the better. I'm constantly amazed, as I peruse through PubMed and all of the articles that I and others have posted here, that there's so much we already know about these medications but STILL, there's so little that has changed when it comes to prescribing practices. What will it take to change things? I don't know. But the more you and I and everyone else knows, the better equipped we are to make intelligent and reasoned decisions about our own health care.

 

While many of us choose not to make our own stories public, we can certainly talk to those around us. Those little ripples can spread. I think we can all do a little something to make change and awareness happen on a small scale. The larger scale stuff? Well, that will require larger waves.

 

Ripples first, then waves. Eventually, perhaps, the tide will turn.

How can a candidate for president of the U.S. NOT address the issue of an entire nation being poisoned by an industry that is out of control?  Oops.  Forgot about that old campaign financing problem.  Oh yeah, and I forgot about the infiltration of the FDA by former big pharma execs.  Gee now I'm beginning to wonder if vaccines are safe...