New discoveries and advances in technology revolutionize the ways illnesses are cured and treated leads to a change in the cure, delivery system, and training of medicine. The new tools used for cure, known as pharmaceuticals, gave birth to a booming new industry. Today, the issue with chronic illnesses like cancer, heart disease, and diabetes is that they only get worse. Using a quick fix up with medicine creates more side effects that can even cause a whole new illness, or possibly a drug related death. People want faster results on acute conditions. The time constraints fuel increases in pharmaceutical medicine even more.
Rather than preventing illnesses people want a miracle pill to help cure everything they have, which blinds the benefits of prevention. The diet and lifestyle of the average American is fueling an array of diseases. People often expect that our body will function properly without enough sleep or vitamins and minerals. From the daily stress at work, consuming processed foods, and the lack of exercise, we are destroying our bodies. A person may have a headache before an important meeting. They decide to take medications to reduce the headache, and maybe some more throughout the day to get them through. Pills only synthetically enhance or suppress body functions to speed the recovery process. Drugs are nothing but “toxins that put a burden on our immune system” (Kornfeld). In a report by the U. S Food and Drug Administration, they “found no
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most powerful and greedy industries in our country, with a goal to make as large a profit as possible, at the expense of the sick.
With access to prescription drugs, people are able to treat a multitude of diseases and illnesses. These drugs help deal with pain, inability to sleep, depression, and much more. Every day we are increasingly living in a world where there is better living through chemicals. However, what most do not seem to see is the rising tide of pain, illness, and ultimately death being caused by the pills people take every day. Most keep drugs in a special place in their minds, where they see them as harmless. Sadly, this is not the case, and in some cases our prescription drugs can be just as harmful as illegal drugs (King 68).
Commercialized on TV as the only solution to our numerous problems, Big Pharma preys on people who struggle through life. Although seemingly meant to heal, pharmaceutical drugs have destroyed countless American lives instead because gullible patients rush to their doctor demanding prescriptions. Want to lose weight? Give me a pill. Want more intense sexual encounters? I need a pill. Want to grow longer, shinier hair? Hey, I’ll just pop a pill. Although some medical conditions do require medication, not every case of discomfort should be treated with highly addictive prescription meds nor should those drugs be trafficked via commercials that target a hypochondriacal nation of couch potatoes too lazy to put forth the time and effort to prevent disease. Instead, far too many Americans simply find a quick fix at their local pharmacy. These prescriptions lead to addiction and in the end death. Therefore, if I could take away any one invention from mankind it would be the crass commercialization of pharmaceuticals.
We in America tend to take medications for almost any problem we have, from headaches to gastrointestinal pain, to more serious chronic disorders such as depression and attention deficit disorder. While many of the uses of such medications may be necessary and legitimate, many are not, and due to this fact, many people become dependent on medications, mentally, and or physically. This problem is not simply the fault of the individual; in fact, the blame can also be placed upon the medical community, and the pharmaceutical companies who produce the drugs. How often can one turn on the television to see advertisements for Claritin, Aspirin, Pepto-Bismol, or even Zoloft or Ritalin? The pharmaceutical industry is motivated by monetary
The high prices set by pharmaceutical companies for drugs allows the companies to continue researching, developing, and producing new drugs. As new diseases are discovered, new medications must be discovered in order to treat them.
Medication has also become increasingly complex. There has been a massive increase in the number and variety of medications available. In addition, many medications have different routes of delivery, variable actions (long acting, short
Medicine has been used since ancient times, but it has greatly developed through the centuries. Today, people have doctors, nurses, surgeons, therapists, and many other individuals in the health field. Society’s definition of a healthy lifestyle, and the way people live, has greatly changed, and it has given most people a new perspective on society 's health. Before medications and doctors, people often died, or had no way to recover from illnesses and disease, because there were no cures. Advances in medicine are made every day. These advances could be a new allergy medication, a new vaccine to prevent a deadly disease, or a new way of performing surgeries, but all of these advances have one thing in common: they can save lives and make a better America.
Even though the pharmaceutical industry had been highly profitable and contributed about 40% OF Ciba-Geigy’s revenues in profit, there were some trends, which were worrying. The government had attempted to reduce a cost of healthcare thus; pressure to lower costs was mounting on industrialized countries. There were restrictions to introduce new products, and price control became stricter while limiting the freedom of doctors to prescribe medications. Patent controls were becoming reduced, and the pharmaceutical industry was becoming increasingly criticized. These trends later made the industry to
Pharmaceuticals, although known under many different names, have been an important part of civilization since the Ancient times. They are extremely important in the everyday life of many Canadians who deal with illnesses, diseases, and pain. Chemistry is an integral part of medicines. Were it not for medicines and the pharmaceutical industry, the world would be a very different, very unhealthy place. Medicines are easily taken and forgotten today, but that was not always so.
Some people believe that modern medicines are a better choice for healing, rather than the holistic approach. Qiuping Gu, the author of Prescription Drug Use, explained in his studies, “Over the last 10 years, the percentage of Americans who took at least one prescription drug in the past month increased from 44% to 48%”(Gu). This statistic shows that Americans are increasingly relying on medicines to heal themselves. This is not to say that prescription medications are the only method of healing for all people. Citizens in support of prescription drugs say that the FDA regulates drugs,
People all over the world, continue to be tendered prescription medication, which in many cases further complicate health issues with its myriad of side effects. In fact, statistics have shown that approximately 100,000 people around the world die as a result of prescription drugs annually (Smith, 2012). On the contrary, according
With the huge diversity and changeability of human biology, it is impossible to imagine a reality without some mutations, changes, or issues in the organs and tissues of humans. Thus, it rightly follows that medications and pharmaceuticals have been created in an effort to counteract the various ailments and illnesses that people can experience. However, as time has gone on and these pharmaceuticals have become more and more high-tech, regulated, and trusted, they have also become incredibly commercialized. Worse still, medications have become incredibly expensive and can be unattainable for some people.
Millions of Americans suffer from chronic illnesses. Prescription drugs are the main course of treatment, however they cause over 38 thousand deaths in the United States each
Even though the pharmaceutical industry has made great improvements to human health and quality of life, like creating drugs for the treatment of AIDS, cancer, and other diseases, an increasing tension is growing between the public and the industry. These thoughts are fueled by issues such as drug pricing, affordable health care, and the battle against epidemic diseases in third world countries; social critics wonder whether this multi-billion dollar industry is giving enough back to the community and fulfilling its social responsibility.
Over the years, scientists have been instrumental in discovering and developing new drugs that save thousands of people’s lives. This significantly improves life as we know it on Earth. So basically, this topic is on a big in-depth study of drugs and medications.