America on Drugs
A misguided trust
by craig stellpflug, Ndc
N
ewsweek magazine reports that side effects from
prescription drugs are now the fourth leading cause
of death in the US.
of medical peer-review journals, and
government health statistics shows
Americans will spend over $2 trillion this year on that ... the number of people having
health insurance, pharmaceutical drugs, and medical bills.
in-hospital, adverse drug reactions
(ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, within eight
million ... the number of unneces-
years, America’s health care costs will soar to $4.1 trillion
sary antibiotics prescribed annually
annually. Americans spend more for health care than any
for viral infections is 20 million ... the
number of unnecessary medical and
other nation in the world, and yet we are not the healthi- surgical procedures performed annu-
est nation in the world. We are number 34 in the world for
ally is 7.5 million ... the number of
people exposed to unnecessary hospi-
infant mortality and number 42 for life expectancy.
talization annually is 8.9 million.”
According to a recent report
published in the medical journal
Pediatrics, the rate of the abuse of
so, with our sophisticated
psychotropic drugs and pain killers we
ADHD drugs has been in lock step
and expensive healthcare
consume like candy. It is also the Sta-
tin drugs, antibiotics, blood pressure
with the increase of the “legal” use of
where is our health?
drugs, sex enhancing drugs and vac-
these drugs. Between 1998 and 2005,
Chronic disease is on the rise in
cines that are also exacting a toll on
prescriptions for ADHD increased by
perfect step with our growing medi-
our health. We take them because we
80 percent, while the abuse of these
cal system. In the United States, 48%
think they make us healthy, but to the
meds increased by 76 percent during
of men and 38% of women can now
contrary we only take them because
the same time period.
look forward to getting cancer. Eight
we are unhealthy. The fact is that the
percent of our children suffer from
United States is the most heavily vac-
can we really afford our
serious food allergies, about 20% of
cinated population in the world and
health care? even if it
our children are now on schedule
coincidently plagued with the highest
II pharmaceutical drugs, and a third
occurrence of autism, diabetes and
costs us our health?
of low-income preschool kids are
asthma in the world. With the big- The medical profession indeed has its
overweight or obese. Heart disease,
gest vaccine schedule in the world, place. Someone involved in a car ac-
asthma, allergies, diabetes, mental
we should have the lowest death cident or suffering a heart attack should
illness, cancer, and obesity rates are
rates and the best health, and yet the seek immediate treatment at the local
spiraling upwards among all sectors of
United States ranks number 34 with hospital emergency room. But the con-
the population.
infant mortality rates falling behind cern is becoming a prescription drug
such countries as Croatia and Crete. junky or be driven into bankruptcy
America is hooked
court by a $100,000+ hospital bill. Yet
on drugs! Are drugs the cure or are
that is what can happen. One phar-
maceutical drug leads to two, leads to
America is the most drugged nation
they the problem?
three and so on. One surgery leads to a
of the world, and it is legal drugs that
Medical analyst Gary Null warns: second surgery and, of course the col-
are the problem. But it’s not just the
“A definitive review and close reading lateral pharmaceutical drugs.
14 Phoenix
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