Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 27 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
General News    H1'ed 11/24/17

Pharma's Best Salespeople? Patients Who "Kill the Messenger"

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   4 comments
Message Martha Rosenberg
Become a Fan
  (84 fans)

"Prince was not addicted to pain medication. Prince had a medical condition -- chronic pain --which is criminally under-treated.... Physical dependence is not addiction." So reads one of many articles that defend opioids and blame their restrictions for the nation's opioid crisis. Right.

No Responsible News Outlet Disputes Pharma Caused the Opioid Addiction Epidemic
No Responsible News Outlet Disputes Pharma Caused the Opioid Addiction Epidemic
(Image by Martha Rosenberg)
  Details   DMCA

When journalists present evidence of a prescription drug being dangerous, ineffective, unethically marketed and even unnecessary we are often met with: "How dare you suggest I am not sick?" "You're not taking my drugs!" They sound like gun advocates whose response to better background check laws for guns is "you're not taking my gun."

Thanks to aggressive Pharma marketing, seven out of ten Americans now take a prescription drug and many of the drugs are far from safe.

* 100 people a day die in the US from opioids.

* Statins are linked to memory loss

* GERD meds are linked to early death risks

* SSRI antidepressants are linked to suicide

Pharma has succeeded, through millions of dollars of advertising, in doing two cagey things: it has convinced people who might actually be fine that they have "depression," GERD and other conditions and it has downplayed the risks of drugs to treat those conditions. (In the process it also raises our health care costs and taxes through selling its expensive drugs.)

Consider SSRI antidepressants. Before the advent of Prozac, depression was not a permanent condition for which people took life-long drugs. It was a self-limited condition that would go away on its own or respond to short-term drugs. Now roughly a quarter of the population takes antidepressants, sometimes for decades. When SSRI antidepressants stop working or don't work to begin with, Pharma tells patients they need to add more expensive drugs, furthering profiting, and patients comply

.

Whereas it takes thirty seconds for a doctor to prescribe such psychoactive drugs, it can take years for a person to titrate off them, faced with a host of very unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. SSRI antidepressants also cause weight gain, sexual dysfunction and sometimes bizarre and violent behavior.

Psychoactive drugs are especially dangerous in children. Today, millions of children are given drugs for ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorders, mixed manias, pervasive development disorders and more. Their chances of going on to lead drug-free lives are very slim----they have never been "straight"---- and Pharma has actual marketing plans to keep children on such drugs as life-long customers when they leave home.

GERD medicines (proton pump inhibitors or PPIs) which millions have been convinced to use are linked to dangerous "C dif" infections, osteoporosis and bone fractures. Most users do not have GERD but simple heartburn.

And opioids? In addition to addiction and death, they are linked to hormonal changes, constipation, a decrease in immune responses, fracture risks, liver and kidney risks, cardiopulmonary, pulmonary and congestive heart problems, sleep apnea and mental problems. In some cases, opioids actually cause rather than relieve pain a phenomenon called opioid-induced hyperalgesia (OIH).

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 5   Well Said 5   Supported 5  
Rate It | View Ratings

Martha Rosenberg Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Martha Rosenberg is an award-winning investigative public health reporter who covers the food, drug and gun industries. Her first book, Born With A Junk Food Deficiency: How Flaks, Quacks and Hacks Pimp The Public Health, is distributed by Random (more...)
 

Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Grassley Investigates Lilly/WebMD link Reported by Washington Post

The Drug Store in Your Tap Water

It's the Cymbalta Stupid

Are You Sure You're Not Psychotic Asks Shameless Drug Company?

Another Poorly Regulated "Derivative"--the Antidepressant Pristiq

MRSA and More. Antibiotics Linked to Obesity and Allergies, Too

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend