Pharmaceutical Companies: The American Way

My topic is pharmaceutical companies and the role they play in the lives of everyday Americans, the economy, and the government. I believe that pharmaceutical companies have become quite corrupt over the years and that they lie, cheat, and do whatever they can to turn a profit and make their companies and the industry as rich as is possible. It also appears that the government will do whatever it can to continue this ongoing scheme, since pharmaceutical companies are one of their largest financial backers.


After reading several articles and looking up various facts and statistics, I have found a ton of interesting information about the system and how it works. Drug companies make pills for diseases they have completely made up, and conduct phony clinical tests. They put billions of dollars into consumer advertising, and even more, $10,000 per doctor, into getting our physician to sell their product. They bribe doctors into conducting phony research and prescribing as much of these medications as they can.

They can afford it too, they are a half trillion-dollar industry, making more than every single gas station in the U.S. combined. They also overprice the medication, so that us American consumers will have to pay more for it that we actually could be. This is where our government comes into play. Our president has blocked all prescription imports from any country, and made it only possible to purchase prescriptions from the monopoly-controlled United States pharmacies. Our president has also announced that he wants to have every child and adult in America take a mental health screening, more than likely so that many of us will be prescribed anti-psychotic and anti-depressive medication.

Maybe we should be learning more about the side effects of these harmful drugs before everyone in America is on them. We are a terrorist concerned country, but what we don’t know is that prescription pills kill 16,400% more people than terrorist do. That’s 12 million people each year. It wouldn’t be quite so bad if they were at least honest about the pills they put out. It’s said that 94% of the information given out on commercials, and in brochures for our doctors to read so they will prescribe these pills, is false.

That is my view, and the information I have presented is true, but on the other hand a lot of people in our country have to deal with serious illnesses and do need medication. Without pharmaceutical companies every person in our country with an ailment or disease would be suffering. There is no doubt that these companies are needed to ensure the health and safety of our people and our economy. Without this huge industry our country would have a lot less money too. There is a pill out there for pretty much anyone who needs a cure for anything, other than AIDS and cancer of course. Many people with mood disorders also have a need for medication. The role that our doctors and psychiatrist’s play is a very important one. They are the ones who decide which medication to prescribe to which person and for what reason. We need these companies around to help many people in our country throughout their lives.

My main issue though, is that these people may be getting prescribed medication simply for the purpose of profit, and not because it will help them. If a doctor is getting paid by a certain company to promote a certain medication for depression, than he more than likely will prescribe that pill without thinking much about the patients symptoms and whether it is right for them, or thinking about the possible side effects that might occur while taking it.

It is the responsibility of the pharmaceutical companies to produce accurate information about their products and to do extensive research and testing to make sure, not only that it works, but also that it is safe, and they, sadly do not.


Bibliography

http://www.nida.nih.gov/

http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs5/5140/

http://www.newstarget.com/pharmaceutical_industry.html

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