NEWS: Drug Companies Invent Diseases to Boost Profits

Pharmaceutical companies are preying on consumers fear of disease and illness to sell more drugs. Public Library of Science Medicine, a medical journal, states that multinational drug companies are promoting non-existent diseases and exaggerating mild health defects to make more money. They are making diseases out of symptoms and natural life processes, such as menopause. The drug industry denies this claim.



Although the study comes out of Australia and the links in this story are to non-U.S. sources, this could easily be talking about the drug industry in the US as well.

You can't go through a woman's magazine without seeing several multi-page ads touting the miracle effects of many drugs. Drugs not just to rid us of the pain of arthritis and migraines, but for other conditions that are not really diseases. Creating the mindset where women think menopause is a disease to be rid of instead of a naural part of the life experience.
The same goes for television commercials.
There's big bucks being spent here, folks!

And, or course, the consumer sees these ads and go to their doctors demanding these drugs.
We're becoming nations of pill-poppers and the drug companies are getting very wealthy because of this.


Related News Links:
www.medicalnewstoday.com
www.drugresearcher.com
medicine.plosjournals.org
www.cbc.ca

No offense, but this isn't really something new.

The drugs they make also only mask the symptoms, they never cure the disease. There's no money to be made in cures.

And don't even get me started on how they are patenting human DNA (yes, one day your DNA will be owned by a drug company).

Well, it may not be news to many consumers but this report in an Australian medical journal is unusual in that part of the medical community is admitting this is happening.

Somehow, I cannot fathom a report of this nature coming out in America. The drug companies and their lobbyists are too entrenched in the medical community.

I gotta say it. Again.

Chronic disease is endemic and epidemic in the world. For example, the top 5 chronic diseases - heart disease, cancer, stroke, COPD, and diabetes - cause more than two-thirds of all deaths in the USA. More than 90 million Americans are estimated to have chronic disease.

The evidence suggests most chronic diseases are related - and systemic, meaning manifestations involve a broad range of symptoms and impact different people in different ways.

IMO - the conspiracy involves treating symptoms rather than underlying disease and Big Pharma hiding the truth and the potentials of personalized medicine in collusion with the medical insurance industry.

So the real conspiracy is more about distracting and deflecting peoples' attention away from the real problem - and existent solutions - rather than manufacturing the problem from whole cloth.

can i copyright/patent my DNA, then sue them for copyright infringement? lol

seriously though im not surprised, and this is definately not new. it may start to become more known, but this i think it pretty obvious.

When my parents approached retirement age and moved to a different town, they decided to both get checkups, after years of no health problems. Immediately, they were given bottles of pills to take. Then more pills to counter side effects. Finally, they quit taking pills and felt better once again.

During the time my best friend was going through a divorce, she had to see a doctor for pneumonia. She walked out of the office not only with antibiotic but a prescription for Buspar. She hadn't requested it but was advised it might help her get through the divorce. She loved it so much we started calling it JuiceBar.

I'd dearly love to see their sources and their data. I know this is unkind, but reading their report on how drug companies "manufacture" problems as they relate to female problems ("it's just your time of life, dearie, so get over it" response) just annoys the thunder out of me. Apparently, as we age, we are not supposed to prevent our bones from getting more brittle... it's just part of aging. And, of course, nobody over 40 deserves a sex drive.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

My opinions can be changed, but I want to see that study -- the methods and the statistics and who funded the research. It's just a little too conveniently smug about dismissing problems that those over age 40 (or those with high blood pressure, etc, etc) have been complaining about for years.

The ADHD bit... eh... parental pressure is a part of all that, too.

But let's see the original study first.

I found the journal:
medicine.plosjournals.org...
Guess what, folks? ]

It's not studies. IT'S FREAKIN' OP-ED!!!

No peer review.

No case studies.

Just op-ed and literature searches with cherry-picked articles, designed to be a set of presentation papers for a "Conference on Disease Mongering."

Can you say "loaded word topic"? Can you say "irresponsible science"?

For those of you not familiar with the science process, it's perfectly legit to have conferences on tightly focused topics. But when you use emotionally loaded words like "disease mongering" then what you're going to get is people who need publication credits who are crafting papers to prove your point.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................

That ain't science. It's OP-ED!

[edit on 11-4-2006 by Byrd]

Chronic disease is endemic and epidemic in the world. For example, the top 5 chronic diseases - heart disease, cancer, stroke, COPD, and diabetes - cause more than two-thirds of all deaths in the USA. More than 90 million Americans are estimated to have chronic disease.

Most of the chronic diseases can be avoided as well, but as Americans we have come to rely on medication to fix them instead of exercising, eating right, not smoking, etc. We eat horribly, we don't exercise, we smoke cigarettes, we drink alcohol, but when it comes to fixing these problems, instead of doing it ourselves, we rely on someone else to do it for us. In a sense, we're just lazy and dependent, and the drug companies (as well as many other companies) like it that way.

Well, one of the "invented diseases" that the news reported, was Bipolar Disorder. I have bipolar and i can tell you, its not invented. The idea of my lithium medication is making me have this disorder is crazy, if i dont have the correct amount of medication in my blood...things can get very bad. When i have the correct amount (after blood tests to check) i can cope and interact with the rest of society.

this news is BS

Byrd said:For those of you not familiar with the science process, it's perfectly legit to have conferences on tightly focused topics. But when you use emotionally loaded words like "disease mongering" then what you're going to get is people who need publication credits who are crafting papers to prove your point.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr................

While I think the study is flawed in that there are legitimate medical concerns that are being trivialized, can we also deny that the drug lobbyists/industry are hyping illnesses--or should I say symptoms--to get people to ask for drugs they MAY not need?
Asking people to take drugs for a restless leg, when perhaps a mineral supplement would be a better choice?
Making menopause an illness????


Flawed science it may be, but the drug industry does go too far!

FYI - "restless leg" for example is a common symptom of extremely high blood pressure. High blood pressure leads to strokes.

Often, blood pressure is "labile," meaning it goes up and down - so it's not appropriate to take BP medication to lower the blood pressure because it would go too low during the down cycle.

Labile BP can be treated using "personalized medicine," which involves frequent testing similar to the way diabetics test their glucose levels - and constant adjustment of meds.

No one wants to pay for this kind of monitoring and treatment - blockbuster "one-size-fits-all" meds are more profitable. So Big Pharma focuses on the "benign" secondary symptoms - and pushes blockbusters.

There is a real problem here - it's just not what it seems to be. Likewise with most (if not all) of the other 'pretend' diseases. ...It's all about distracting and deflecting.



elderban - Modern disease is a molecular response to our contaminated polluted world. No one has control over the constant exposures. Yes, we can control some things, and should, and excercise our personal power.

But reacting on a molecular level to environmental contamination does not result from a character flaw, nor is maintaining one's health in this molecularly-modified world a matter of "Personal Responsibility."

.

add resp to elderban

[edit on 12-4-2006 by soficrow]

My favorite of a manufactured disease is GERD, gastro esophageal reflux disease, or as it was known 20 yrs ago....bad heartburn. Completely controllable through diet and habits. But now, its a disease.....

NC

Quote, sofiFYI - "restless leg" for example is a common symptom of extremely high blood pressure. High blood pressure leads to strokes.

That may be well true. But, does treating the restless with meds leg improve the blood pressure? I can't see how.
I have experience restless leg. I don't have high blood pressure. So, I should go to a doctor, further taxing the health care system, when talking some supplements helps?
Should these people have to take another med to control their blood pressure?

And, like the poster above, shouldn't people take some responsiblity for their lifestyle, eat better, exercise, etc. and not expect pills to do it all?

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
And, like the poster above, shouldn't people take some responsibility for their lifestyle, eat better, exercise, etc. and not expect pills to do it all?

That's the sad thing nobody in this day and times wants to take responsibility for their own health problems and every day problems, because after all is a magic pill already waiting or in the making to take care of the Symptoms.

But. . . Has any body said cure?

I love the pharmaceuticals propaganda, they are always Researching. . . Always finding remedies. . . always thinking about people with medical problems. . . to make our life easier.

But not a single propaganda commercial that I have see so far said We are finding cures so you don't have to depend of remedies and medications for the rest of your life..

Originally posted by marg6043
That's the sad thing nobody in this day and times wants to take responsibility for their own health problems and every day problems, because after all is a magic pill already waiting or in the making to take care of the Symptoms.

But. . . Has any body said cure?

But not a single propaganda commercial that I have see so far said We are finding cures so you don't have to depend of remedies and medications for the rest of your life..

Heh, for once I stand on the same side of an issue as you, Marg.

You make a good point about curing. When was the last time you heard of anyone being completely and totally cured of anything? No one in the medical profession ever seems to use that term, do they?

The Pharmonopolies certainly know that residual income is much better than one-time income. There is no profit for them to cure you once when they can treat you forever. I'd love not to be bald, but I'll be [insert graphic language here]...'ed if I'll buy a treatment for the rest of my life, that may or may not actually work. I refuse to rent my hair, thank you.

The fact that the medications are produced by companies who do it to make money instantly throws up a red flag for me. This is why I normally take no medication that had to be chemically processed. Now, if I was to come down with an actual disease, I probably would take meds, but only for that specific disease and there would have to be significant evidence that it would effective. I don't trust big business or the government (is there any real difference?) enough to allow them to tell me what is and is not good for me if their answer can affect how much money they can make. I am under no illusions. The money is more important to them than my life, health, or welfare.

Chemical medications in most cases are just one more thing that you can be convinced that you can't live without, and that later can be used to control you by controlling your access to it. Of course there are exceptions and there are those who do take medications that are necessary to keep them alive and/or sane, but I submit that many more people take expensive and frankly dangerous medications than actually need them. It's sad that here in the US, we've become a nation of junkies, with our own government and the big money behind it as the biggest drug pushers in history.

DARE... not to do drugs [seen on bumper stickers that I despise, but probably helped pay for with my tax dollars]. Yeah right. I am often rendered speechless by the blatant hypocrisy of our society and those who run it.

Ambient Sound

You are so right, don't worry about boldness my husband has been using all kind of stuff, prescribed and over the counter for years and guess what. . . is not cure for it just have to accept it and be happy, beside men looks more mature and intelligent when bold.

I told my husband that all the time.

My parents used to make me take pills when I would get sick as a child. I would always hate being sick and taking medicine because I always suffered headaches, naseua, and othe railments. After I was in high school and was pretty much independant thinking I was still taking medicine out of habit and tradition. I stopped taking meds and pills eventually and I cannot remember having a headache within the last two years at all.

I get a cold maybe once a year if even that, and it hardly ever bothers me. I simply drink alot of juice and stay eating fruit like I always do anyways. And forget about painkillers for aches. instead of taking aleve and tylenol for your backpains and sore musucles, go for a walk, do some stretches and then relax a little bit. Popping a pill to mask the pain will do nothing. Your pain will likely still be there in 4-8 hours if you have not taken any rest or done strecthes.

I have not taken any pills in a couple of years now and my only side effects that I can document are: no headaches, very few and minor sickness during the year. Don't tell me my job is too easy either I work at friggin Wal-Mart. I pull freight all day in the backroom, stock the salesfloor, get ordered around by some irresponsible, unorganized bosses, get cussed out by customers often (all I can do is smile and say "thank you for shopping at Wal-Mart, please come again") and pretty much get eyed by LP everytime some fishy activity goes on because of my prior records.

I plan on staying on a healthy diet and routine fitness throughout my years so I can live healthy. I know how hard it is to get off your ass after your thirty and go do some excercise. Hopefully many people here don't get home from work, have a beer, turn on the tv or logon to ATS. This stuff is what brings your health down. Doing that everyday means your not excercising often at all.

Unfortunetly, this is not something new.

There is much discussion on this topic. In my opinion, it has progressed from conspiracy to fact.

“primary axillary hyperhidrosis” -- add that to the list of diseases.

Heard this chutzpha on the radio the other day, an ad for Botox. Not enough wrinkled brows to treat, now it's for underarm sweating too:

FDA Approves Botox to Treat Severe Underarm Sweating

FDA has approved Botulinum Toxin Type A (Botox) to treat severe underarm sweating known as “primary axillary hyperhidrosis” that cannot be managed by topical agents such as prescription antiperspirants. Botox has already been approved for several other purposes. Today’s approval allows the product’s manufacturer, Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif., to market Botulinum Toxin Type A for this new indication.

more

Botox blows it's horn


Sweating a disease?

I'm glad I'm a girl--we glow.

[edit on 13-4-2006 by psyopswatcher]