There are a lot of new readers to Better Body Journal because of a recent story that got promoted to the front page of Digg yesterday. First off, welcome. Second off, I’d like to give a quick background on this site before we piss any more people off. Well, actually, that’s what we do here. We piss people off. We get a little rude and crude because we’re tired of the “It’s not my fault,” blame-someone-else mentality that many Americans have developed when it comes their own lives and health.
A lot of people are taking the comments personally. Sorry if we hit a nerve. Like we tried to say in the previous article, we know that there are legitimate purposes for many, if not all, prescription drugs. We just want to see many of them being used as a last resort after exhausting all of the common sense, holistic techniques to treat an ailment.
By the way, we are not doctors. We are not qualified to give medical advice. The views and opinions expressed on this site are just that: views and opinions. On that note, we are not Scientologists or conspiracy theorists either.
That said, let us continue our attack on the business that is pharmaceuticals. Please read the “Killing You Legally” article first to understand the context of what is written below.
Restless Leg Syndrome is Actually a Real Disease
First and foremost, I’d really like to apologize to the actual Restless Leg Syndrome sufferers out there. In the previous article I treated RLS like a made up disease, which obviously it is not. There are most certainly people out there that suffer from Restless Leg Syndrome where it affects their daily lives. I don’t mean to pick only on RLS, but that is the way it came out in the previous article.
But 1 in 10 Americans? Really? How come we never heard of this disease 10 years ago? Now, all of the sudden, every tenth person I know is a sufferer of Restless Leg Syndrome? You should be weary of any disease and its cure that is promoted so heavily, where it affects so many people out of nowhere.
There is a huge conflict of interest here when the company that produces the drug to treat RLS runs the main information portal while providing “non-biased” research to prove their point. Take from it what you will, but I truly doubt these studies were non-biased. When millions of dollars are involved, there is no such thing as independent research.
The Good, The Bad, and The Profitable.
The Good
The pharmaceutical industry is huge in the scope of its work. There are drugs out there that treat anything from allergies all the way to yeast infections. There is very good work being done by very good people in the field of medicine, the foot soldiers and the pioneers. The progress of medicine in America and the world has been incredible. Cancer, AIDS, Alzheimer’s, and many more are life-threatening diseases that affect us in one way or another, whether we suffer from the disease itself, or a close family member or friend.
The Bad and the Profitable – Pushing the Big Pharma Agenda
I believe in capitalism and free markets. I don’t think health care and medicine should be in the hands of government. Not a very liberal point of view, but that’s just my opinion. For the record, I’ve never seen Sicko, not that it should matter.
But somewhere medicine stopped being about the common good. The “free market” of medicine is not free at all. It can’t be free when the there are more than 2 pharmaceutical lobbyists for every 1 member of Congress. It can’t be free when the pharmaceutical industry spends more than any other industry on its lobbying efforts. ($758 million since 1998 as of 2005)(1)
And this is my problem with the pharmaceutical industry, and it should be yours. This is the point I was trying to make in the previous article. There is plenty of good work being done in medicine, but it is being exploited and abused by those in control. Like when a drug to treat severe depression is marketed to the general public, so it can hook those with low self-esteem or those going through a rough patch in their lives to a habit forming pill. Promoting the common good has taken a backseat promoting a company’s bottom line. From USA Today(2):
Over the years those lobbyists have been very successful, demonstrating that the industry knows politics as well as it knows chemistry. Drug companies won coverage for prescription drugs under Medicare in 2003 while blocking the government from negotiating prices downward. They have so far kept out imports of cheaper medicines from Canada and other countries. And they have protected a system that uses company fees to speed the drug-approval process.
“They win more than they should,” says James Love, an industry critic who is director of the non-profit Consumer Project on Technology. “The one thing they have going for them is money.”
The Food and Drug Administration IS THE Pharmaceutical Industry, and vise versa
There is a conflict of interest when a government agency whose purpose is make sure pharmaceutical drugs are “safe and effective” before they hit the market, has advisers from that very industry. A USA Today article (3) reports that 92% of FDA advisory committee meetings from January 1998 to June 2000 had at least one member with a financial conflict of interest. 55% of meetings had half of the FDA advisers in those meetings with a financial conflict of interest. A more staggering fact is that 33% had a financial conflict when dealing with the fate of a specific drug.
When so few people will affect the lives of so many, it is a crime that their decisions are allowed to be influenced by their stake in a company. The very people who are hired by the FDA to debate, test, and finally approve these drugs are the very people working for the drug makers.
Advisers can be paid up to $50,000 as a consultant for a drug company before there is a “conflict of interest” according to the FDA. Private jets paid for by drug companies whisk politicians and lawmakers to and from closed meetings, events, and the capital. There is a lot of money involved. Your health and safety are footnotes.
Who is to blame?
Who am I going to blame for the sky-high drug prices, excessive promotion of unnecessary drugs that end up being not-so-safe, and rising death toll from prescription drugs? Everyone. Let’s begin.
Government
Lobbying is nothing new in Washington. Gun makers, cigarette companies, oil companies, farmers and so on. They all do it. Every industry has stake in the laws our government makes. But it is a disgusting practice that needs to be stopped or regulated better if you want real change in this country, no matter which candidate you support.
The public controls the government. That is the way it should be. But who really controls it? Sure, we the people have the illusion we control it, but decisions in Washington are heavily influenced by private interest. There is no getting around that.
The Pharmaceutical Companies
Pfizer spent $16.90 billion on marketing in 2004, and only $7.68 billion on research and development. GlaxoSmithKline spent $12.93 on marketing, and $5.20 billion on research and development. Merck spent $7.35 billion on marketing and $4 billion on research and development. (4)
Just like the previous article, I still want to put a lot of blame on the Pharmaceutical companies. Imagine if those numbers were reversed. Rather than 2:1 spending on marketing to R&D, what if pharmaceutical companies had a cap on marketing spend, or a minimum spend on research and development? Would that change anything? Who knows. It’s a pipe dream anyway. When big Pharma spends more on lobbying that any other industry, no law or act will ever be put into place that negatively affects their profits. Never.
Does the pharmaceutical industry want cheap drugs on the market? Of course not. Arbitrarily high prices are the reason their profits are so big. The barriers to entry for new drugs are so high that true, free-market competition is not possible. These barriers are put into place by the companies that make up the drug industry lobby. The industry functions very similar to a cartel.
Ourselves
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again. Wake up America. If you’ve read this article and the last, you have been warned. Pharmaceutical companies want you to take their pills whether you need them or not. If you need them and they work for you, thank the pioneers, thinkers, and scientists. There are honest in people in the pharmaceutical industry that want to rid the world of disease as much as you and I do.
But for the average Joe, think about the pills you think you need. The playing field is not level because we are bombarded with billions of dollars worth of advertising every year, convinced into thinking that we need expensive pills for all that ails us.
Try the holistic approach before you succumb to the lure of prescription pills. Do you suffer from depression because you’re over weight? Spend a year getting in shape and you will change your life for the better. Still suffering? Then maybe you have a real problem.
Do you suffer from heartburn? Take a look at your diet. Is it fully comprised of foods that would cause heartburn? Yes, the commercials say that heartburn is caused by both the foods we eat and genetics. Eliminate the “foods that cause heartburn” part first, and then talk to your doctor about the pill.
Always talk to your doctor before taking the holistic approach. We must state once again that this website not written by doctors. If you are on medication, talk to your doctor about ways you can get off of it safely if that really is your ultimate goal. Before going on medication, talk to your doctor about available natural cures and approaches, and what else you can do before you absolutely have to get on a prescription.
I truly believe in the ability to cure ourselves for many of the problems we have. I’ve heard and read too many stories of people turning their lives around by getting in shape and staying in shape, or changing their lifestyle for the better to eliminate the stress and heartache in their lives.
On that note, be weary of holistic scammers too. Not everything can be cured holistically. While the “natural cures and holistic treatment industry” pales in comparison to the racket that the pharmaceutical company has in place, there are still enough people waiting to rip you off. Be weary of anything that is promoted by scam artists or that is “too good to be true.”
Article Resources
1.) Medical News Today: USA Today Looks at Prescription Drug Industry’s Lobbying Efforts
2.) USA Today: Drugmakers go furthest to sway Congress
3.) USA Today: FDA Advisers Tied To Industry
4.) The Center for Public Integrity: How the pharmaceutical industry gets its way in Washington
Additional Reading
“You look at the number of lobbyists — we are up against an army.”
Under the Influence – 60 Minutes’ Steve Kroft Reports On Drug Lobbyists’ Role in Passing Bill That Keeps Drug Prices High
May 17th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
[...] Continue Reading [...]
May 17th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptThere are a lot of new readers to Better Body Journal because of a recent story that got promoted to the front page of Digg yesterday. First off, welcome. Second off, I’d like to give a quick background on this site before we piss any … [...]
May 18th, 2008 at 6:39 am
I believe the pharma companies overdo it with promotion at times, and that kids end up on way too many medications that aren’t necessary. That being said, drugs like Paxil have the ability to turn lives around. They can take someone that has legit medical issues, and turn them into a productive member of society. Therefore, in my opinion we shouldn’t outright ban these meds, as Tom Cruise and the Scientologists would have us do, but instead I just think big drug companies should market these meds less and promote prescription drug safety more. But that’s just not going to happen. $$$
May 18th, 2008 at 7:58 am
The pharmaceuticals only attempt to remedy the disease and not to prevent the disease. Prevention would cause great loss to their profits.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Not to nitpick, but the word you are looking for is “wary,” not “weary,” which means tired.
May 18th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Pharmaceutical Drug Companies Marketing and Policy Making | Fitness, Weight Loss, and Diet Blog by Better Body Journal…
As of 2005, $758 million was spent on lobbying Washington since 1998 by big Pharma. More than any other industry. There are 2 pharmaceutical lobbyists for every one member of Congress. Twice as much money is spent on Marketing than on R&D by the bigges…
May 18th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
This article is inaccurate and should be flagged as so on DIGG. The author misrepresents “Selling, General, and Adminstrative” expenses purely as marketing expenses instead of the operating expenses that they are…whether malice or lack of understanding is the cause I can not say, but either way he exaggerates the cost of marketing by about 5-fold. SG&A includes all expenses exclusive of R&D and production, including things like payroll, travel, IT, etc, etc, etc….One of the pharma co’s mentioned here spends about 1/6th of what the author suggests on actually marketing its drugs, thus reducing the ratio of maketing:R&D from 2:1 to about 1:3. That means it spends three times more on research than marketing. With over 100,000 employees worldwide, some simple assumptions and calculations bare this out.
Like any human endeavor the pharma industry sometimes falls prey to greed and power, however any objective assessment of good vs bad for humanity would tip heavily towards the former in its favor. Please, do your own research, don’t rely on the words of others simply because they write passionately (especially those who can’t intepret a simple income statement).
May 18th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
I think the resources we used in this article are pretty reputable. If you don’t trust the numbers, read the sources. And if you don’t trust the sources… well, I don’t know what to tell you.
May 18th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
I’ve suffered from RLS on and off for more then 30 years. I tend to agree with the rant against big pharma, but I would not doubt the 1 in 10 figure. I’ve never told anybody that I have this ‘condition’ and did not even know it had a name until I saw the ad. It is almost bad enough (lost sleep) for me to go to a doctor for a prescription, except I generally don’t like taking drugs.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I think you read Marcia Angell’s “The Truth About Drug Companies” and basically stole her argument. I have read it and you use alot of the same facts- except your not a former Editor in Chief of The New England Journal of Medicine.
May 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
I argue with none of your figures except those relating to “marketing” costs. The figures I’m debating are public information filed with the SEC on a quarterly basis by each of the pharma co’s mentioned. Pretty reputable sources if you ask me. The numbers you use to show the focus on marketing in lieu of R&D are simply wrong, and represent the amount spent on ALL operations not relating to the cost of manufacturing and R&D.
Pfizer you list as spending 16.9B on marketing to 7.7 on R&D, GSK 12.9 to 5.2 respectively…in fact those 16.9 and 12.9 figures are not “marketing” costs but *operating* costs, of which marketing (incl. advertising) is a component, but only about $3B and $2B for the companies in question…these figures are nowhere near those you erroneously list for public consumption. Even with the correct ratio now understood to be closer to 1:2 for mktg:R&D, what could ask is that even an appropriate emphasis on research? I don’t know. I’m making an objective criticism of your data, not any judgment about your agenda. I’m merely trying to thwart the dissemination (and perpetuation) of bad information. The rest of the article is fine (the amount spent on lobbying is obscene), but get all your facts straight, please….
May 18th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
@robbh66 – I used a lot of articles for researching this piece… but to be honest I do not think I came across the one written by Marcia Angell. Any similarities are purely coincidental. I guess a lot of people are on the same page. It’s good to hear a credible journalist in medicine feels that same way.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Good job EU is quite strict about this here. Should not be an issue.
May 18th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I greatly appreciate your views on the overwhelming influence of big pharma. I often encounter the same issue as I work with a not for profit group that provides science-based information on dietary supplements.
For those who don’t know, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the maker of alli, an over the counter drug for weight loss, just filed a petition with the FDA to get ‘overweight’ classified as a ‘disease’, which would basically stop the sale of dietary supplements that promote weight loss. Some people believe that this is a clear attempt by GlaxoSmithKline to use the government to eliminate GSK’s competition.
We’re interested in what you think about this issue. Please take a look at http://supplementinfo.org/GSK to read the blog and leave your comments. Thanks.
May 18th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
Also check out Edgar Cayce if you want to circumvent Big Pharma. His cures have always come through for me and I recommend them to all of my friends that will listen.
May 19th, 2008 at 4:14 am
[...] with a failed Yaz experiment and a system-ravaging run with the mega-antibiotic Cipro, so this skewering of Big Pharma that got a ton of run on Digg struck particularly close to home. Like any debate [...]
May 19th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Pharmaceuticals – When the Common Good Takes a Backseat…
[...]As of 2005, $758 million was spent on lobbying Washington since 1998 by big Pharma. More than any other industry. There are 2 pharmaceutical lobbyists for every one member of Congress. Twice as much money is spent on Marketing than on R&D …
May 19th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
It’s hard to say whether these figures are out of line or not. It’s easy to throw up a bunch of numbers that on the surface seem very dramatic (they spent 2x on marketing than what they spent on R&D!!! OMG!!!!) but you would find with just the slightest amount of digging that those numbers are very much in line with other industries. For instance on almost the same amount of revenue, Microsoft spent almost the same amount on marketing and the same amount on R&D. It might not be an apples-to-apples comparison, but what else are we comparing it to then? Sixteen billion dollars is a lot of money for sure, and so is seven billion. But who are we to say how much is too much? It’s the same argument that people have about the oil companies. They make too much money is what everyone says. But their profit margins are even lower than drug companies and theirs are around the 20% mark. That’s pretty good but it’s hardly raping the general public.
We all want cheap gas and cheap drugs and so on, but someone has to foot the bill. It’s costs MAJOR money to bring a drug to market. And by major we’re talking billions of dollars in some cases. About twelve years ago it cost something like $500-800 million just to go through FDA clinical trials which can literally take years to complete. Drug companies have a lot of upfront costs that they have to recoup in a very short amount of time before their patents expire (7 years I think). After that, the generics take over the market.
But think about it: one drug company spent over seven BILLION dollars attempting to provide a better quality of life for people. And then they spent another sixteen BILLION dollars trying to tell you about what they’re doing. What’s the harm again?
Granted, the voracious lobbying effort has to stop. I have more of a problem with that than any amount of print or TV advertising they do.
May 20th, 2008 at 10:51 am
pharmacy should strictly kept under control of the state, and not to lead people to overdose with some meds, which are not so legal…
May 20th, 2008 at 9:53 pm
Have you guys heard of naturopathic medicine? Not only is naturopathic treatment considerably cheaper than the alternative, it’s also natural. The therapies are based on things like first do no harm, treat the cause, and prevention first. The problem with natural medicine? You can’t patent vitamins that occur in nature! It’s unfortunate that more people don’t know that Vitamin D helps prevent cancer – and you can get it for free! From the sun! This type of problem has created a huge battle between the MD’s and the NMD’s out there. The saddest thing is that the MD’s aren’t trained to know any better nowadays. I suppose going to traditional medical school today is something like allowing yourself to be brainwashed by pharmaceutical companies in order to make a pretty penny. It’s too bad what the world has come too. But I’m sure it won’t be long till there’s a turn around. The MD’s are realizing the importance of natural therapeutics and I’m sure it won’t be long before there’s a revolution!
“life in all it’s fullness is mother nature obeyed” – Weston Price
Also, I strongly believe that the advertising of drugs in mainstream media is absolutely and unquestionably wrong. In Canada it’s not even allowed right now. What does the average Joe know about their health? Nothing! The average Joe doesn’t even know that you should be shopping around the outside of grocery stores to get the majority of your foods from the fresh food section. Did you know that drugs are usually made based on their action within one pathway in the body, but are applied systemically. So just because a molecule has an antiinflammatory action in one pathway does not mean that it will act in the same way through out the whole body. The average Joe is not knowledgeable enough to make these types of decisions about what types of drugs to be on and therefore should be presented with options from their primary health care provider and not bombarded by the media in order to make people think they “need” that drug. Hopefully people are looking to a naturopath (some are licensed to prescribe drugs, like here in AZ) who is trained in a diverse range of health care options and can truly present you with your best bet!
A wise professor once told me, to never take a drug that had been on the market for less than 50 years. He said even then you were taking a huge risk.
Last thought – the body was designed to be healthy. If we obey mother nature, we will be healthy. Life is really that simple.
May 22nd, 2008 at 9:02 am
This is my first visit to your site, but I like it! I can see that you post about some pretty controversial topics which is brave and motivational. And I enjoy reading this stuff so it will keep me coming back.
May 23rd, 2008 at 1:32 am
Wow! I love that you took on this controversial issue. Yes, the drug companies are businesses, and are out to make a profit. It does seem that people health is the second objective. The companies have a lot of share holders to answer to if the earning are down.
May 23rd, 2008 at 4:18 pm
You know how unbelievably true this all is, me and my father discuss this issue constantly, because my mother was diagnosed as a phychosis paitent for something that happened 30-40 years ago and they forced her to start paying for all kinds of meds that just fucked with her head complettly, and to this day, she’s buying all these pills and going on doing what she does, for what? because some shmuck at a hospital thought that alchohol wasn’t the only reason she was depressed, that it stemmed “much deeper” and that the quack thought she needed more drugs to get rid of the problem.
Sadly, before the day she went to that hospital, she was a perfectly fine person and someone who i loved being around, my father left my mother soon after and me and my brothers no longer associate much with her, she’s changed, and not for the good they claimed.
And like me and my dad have said, the only reason they want her on those meds is for money, and lots of it.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
Randy…
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for a great resource.There is nothing else like your site on the net today. My friends are just going to love this site once I let them know about it….
June 12th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
You people who defend the Pharma companies – I get the crazy feeling you must work for one, or are in one of the thousands of industries that make their money directly from Pharma. I used to work for a Web and MUltimedia firm that made training materials for Pharmaceutical companies. They used to walk around justifying the millions of dollars they suckled from Pharma’s teet by saying, “just think – you’re helping an industry that helps others. At the end of the day you can go home feeling like you made a difference”.
Meanwhile, it was all BS. The training materials we were designing were Multimedia presentations that taught Sales Reps how to do whatever it took to get a doctor to prescribe their drug. The training materials were built to prepare Reps for almost any negative response or rejection they could get – and how to creatively counter the answer so they could give the doctor some samples.
In other words, it was sneaky and underhanded. So, I ask – why would any industry that was sincerely, honestly interested in helping the health of the world and doing so – have to lie or sneak their drugs into the hands of the public?
Do some research – the answers are out there. The facts, no matter how disputed or ill-reported, are there. If these drugs are so wonderful, and so much-needed, why not let the public seek them out on their own? Why spend billions advertising with billboards, TV commercials, cartoon characters, junkets, etc.
Just a notion, but your watchdog-like defense of the industry reeks a little too much like the “Pharma Cares about You,” lies that everyone in the industry tells themselves so they can sleep at night.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
I do agree that a holistic approach to medicine is almost never even offered as an option. For example I was experiencing RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome) and I almost started taking a prescription medication for my situation. However, because I was already taking so many other prescriptions, I hesitated. I decided instead, to start paying more attention to my own body. Well I found out that I stopped experiencing RLS when I stopped eating overly processed foods, mainly MSG. I found that when I had MSG (often found in Doritos, ranch dressing, and all fast food). I almost always experienced RLS like clock work. So long story short, instead of taking another prescription, all I had to do was to change my diet. It was that simple. I really avoid MSG and I don’t need more drugs.
June 19th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Natural good supplements can enhance the performance and wellness of us all.
Bonnie Stein at http://www.racewalker.com is a fitness guru, that has been featured on numerous TV programs including CNN, who introduced me to the benefits of “good” supplements. A healthy diet and exercise are the first steps to good health and improving your physical performance. But, we can’t eat enough of the right foods to get all the vitamins and minerals our bodies need for optimum performance. The wellness education page on http://www.docopolis.com is a valuable resource with links to independent research and government data from places like the NIH and The U.S. National Library of Medicine. Great information on what you need to perform at you maximum potential naturally.
As far as prescribed medications go make sure your doctor knows your complete history, is competent and not pushing products because a pharm rep gave him a boatload of samples. After that follow the prescribed routine precisely it very well could save your life.
June 25th, 2008 at 6:06 am
[...] The Bad and the Profitable – Pushing the Big Pharma Agenda I believe in capitalism and free markets. I don’t think health care and medicine should be in the hands of government. Not a very liberal point of view, but that’s just my opinion. For the record, I’ve never seen Sicko, not that it should matter. But somewhere medicine stopped being about the common good. The “free market” of medicine is not free at all. It can’t be free when the there are more than 2 pharmaceutical lobbyists for every 1 member of Congress. It can’t be free when the pharmaceutical industry spends more than any other industry on its lobbying efforts. ($758 million since 1998 as of 2005)(1) And this is my problem with the pharmaceutical industry, and it should be yours. This is the point I was trying to make in the previous article. There is plenty of good work being done in medicine, but it is being exploited and abused by those in control. Like when a drug to treat severe depression is marketed to the general public, so it can hook those with low self-esteem or those going through a rough patch in their lives to a habit forming pill. Promoting the common good has taken a backseat promoting a company’s bottom line. From USA Today(2): Over the years those lobbyists have been very successful, demonstrating that the industry knows politics as well as it knows chemistry. Drug companies won coverage for prescription drugs under Medicare in 2003 while blocking the government from negotiating prices downward. They have so far kept out imports of cheaper medicines from Canada and other countries. And they have protected a system that uses company fees to speed the drug-approval process. “They win more than they should,” says James Love, an industry critic who is director of the non-profit Consumer Project on Technology. “The one thing they have going for them is money.” __________________ _________________ When a true genius appears in the world, you may know them by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against them. -Jonathan Swift —"Thoughts On Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting." [...]
July 10th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
do you sometimes get hot when its 105 degrees outside?
do you not like bumper to bumper traffic?
have you ever thought your boss was a jerk?
does a death of a loved one make you sad?
did you have toast more than 3 times this week?
You answered yes to ANY of these questions you probably have one of 3,000 made up mental disorders that are in the ever growing list of made of disorders that are not based on anything resembling science.
You should ask your doctor about Prozium.
Side effects may include;
Severe Anal Bleeding
Inability to balance any part of the left side of your body
Massive weight gain in your right love handle
Suicide
Being able to understand every word that Jesse Jackson says
And frequent delusions of being Captain Crunch and that the FBI is after you and
your latest secret decoder ring.