- Pharmaceutical drugs do not treat the underlying problems of disease
and ill health, but instead, treat the symptoms of the disorder. Unfortunately,
this often masks the disorder while the underlying problems
become more complicated or intensify.
- Doctors are heavily influenced by drug companies through marketing
and sales. Furthermore, research relied on is often performed by drug
companies themselves. Remember, pharmaceuticals are the largest business
sector besides oil where 4 billion is spent on marketing towards potential
patients, and 16 billion for marketing to doctors!
- Researchers found that "patients" were five times as likely
to walk out of doctors' offices with a prescription when they mentioned
seeing an ad for the heavily promoted drug.
- Prescription drugs can form dependency where your body no longer
functions properly on its own because it is being externally stimulated
by the drugs. Therefore, discontinuing use of the drug is difficult
for the body to continue the proper process on its own. Leaving you
only able to continue on the drug. This is what drug companies want,
for patients to be long term customers.
- Prescription drugs can form tolerances to other drugs or the drug
itself which leaves your body vulnerable to a decreased response to
other treatments or treatments in the future, especially for viral
and bacterial infections.
- Regular use of prescription or OTC drugs can deplete other systems
that they are not directly used to treat. For instance, researchers
found that regular use of the over-the-counter painkiller acetaminophen
was linked to higher rates of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), as well as reduced lung function. Just because it is
available OTC does not mean it is safe!
- There are known side effects to each and every drug – ranging
from mild to serious depending on the individual. Some of which are
even more unpleasant than the symptoms the drug is supposedly relieving.
- There are serious interactions both known and unknown between various
drugs. With the growing number of prescriptions people are taking there
is an equal increase in the risk of detrimental interactions and counter-indications
that are difficult to decipher or predict.
- Many drugs are often found to later be harmful to one’s health.
For example, the infamous case of arthritic patients who were taking
Vioxx that was later pulled from the market due to its negative
effects. Over 60,000 people were killed by choosing Vioxx for their
arthritic pain relief and over 100,000 more were seriously injured.
Generally, 51% of FDA-approved drugs have serious adverse effects not
detected prior to approval. Each year prescription drugs injure 1.5
million people so severely they require hospitalization. In addition,
prescription drugs cause 100,000 deaths annually.
References:
US General Accounting Office. FDA Drug Review: Postapproval Risks, 1976-85.
Washington, DC: US General Accounting Office; April 26, 1990. GAO/PEMD-90-15.
Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN. Incidence of adverse drug reactions
in hospitalized patients: a meta-analysis of prospective studies.
JAMA 1998;279(15);1200-04.
http://www.mercola.com/
Journal of the American Medical Association April 27, 2005;293(16):1995-2002
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine May 1, 2005;171:966-971 |