What Is Prozac, Celexa?

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

Prescriptions, prescriptions,prescriptions. What are prescription drugs? Who uses prescription drugs? And why are prescription drugs important to society? Throughout a person’s entire life, prescription drugs are consumed. Whether the issue is for headaches, cramps, or sickness, prescriptions are there to make a person feel better. Moreover, different types of prescription drugs are used to treat different types of illnesses or reduce the symptoms. However, people do better toughing it out than taking a prescribed drug. A person who has a cold and is taking a prescribed drug has a higher risk of a disease while another person who has a cold and is not taking a prescription drug doesn’t. Due to the issues, prescription drugs need to reform or

The aim was to describe characteristics linked to the prescription of statins for primary prevention of CVD in the subjects (Jones et al., 2014). It was established that smoking, high cholesterol levels, and BMI were all connected to prescription of statins (Jones et al., 2014). The importance of this finding is to show that statin prescription has proven to lower risks of CVD and may also be effective in patients who do not have diabetes. Statins play a role in the primary prevention of CVD in elderly patients as well. Further studies will be needed to discover the benefits of statins on fatal myocardial infarction, stroke and basic causes of mortality (Teng et al., 2015). In another study that focused on a comparison of cholesterol treatment goals in men versus women, women on high statins had a lower achievement rate than men, regardless of personal goals. However, in high-risk women, a diagnosis of diabetes boosted their goal achievements (Schoen, Tabak, Salas, Scherrer, & Buckhold,

Further illustration of this inefficiency is seen by looking at different issues that affect the health of Americans; determining the advantage of medications prescribed to combat the corresponding issue. Picking an issue for several demographics and discussing treatments will allow a greater understanding of unproductive prescription medications. Looking at popular issues and treatments, starting with children and going through senior citizens, will illustrate the issue facing America.

According to Dr. Stange and the U.S. Library of Medicine, “58% strongly agree that DTC ads make the drugs seem much better than they are”. (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) This DTCA is a pipedream for people. The economy is extremely altered by the expensive drugs being advertised. According to the International Society for Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research, “DTCA may also increase the utilization and health care costs by only focusing on the newest and most expensive drugs”. (https://www.ispor.org) Thus, the squabble of society is sustained. Nearly 70% of Americans are on at least one prescribed drug, the over utilization of this is becoming more apparent. Dr. Matthews of the Mackinac Center states that, “giving away samples lures patients into using prescription drugs.” (https://www.mackinac.org/) Which shows how the companies weigh the sales of their products to the help of the

The main indication for statins is to lower cholesterol, which in turn helps management in preventing cardiovascular and heart disease (1). Statins have also been hypothesized to prevent or treat other health conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, prostate cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis; however the evidence is still quite low to justify statins being used for anything other then for the purpose of their cardiac benefits

Direct to consumer (DTC) drug advertising is a controversial topic. The debate is centered around the ability of the consumer to self-diagnosis, the patient-physician relationship and the need to further regulate the pharmaceutical companies. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acquired jurisdiction over prescription drug advertising in 1962 (Frosch et al,2010). Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs (Rx ads) is defined as any promotional effort by the pharmaceutical companies to present prescription drug information to the general public through media outlets (Bradley et al, 1997). Although, DTC advertising has some good effects such as improving the quality of clinical care, by encouraging patients and physician to have a

For most people hearing or seeing the advertisement first hand, has become commonplace. Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising is one way pharmaceutical drug companies get their message to just about everyone, not to mention consumers. Whether direct to consumer advertisement harms or helps is unknown, since the effectiveness of the advertisement is also unknown. Though, regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the advertisement of drugs is largely left up to the consumer to decide if they should believe the information presented is, first off reliable and secondly, if they should seek further information. That information, usually comes from the knowledge of a physician. However, with information at their fingertips through online sources, some delve in on their own efforts. In this report, DTC advertisement is questioned: of its effectiveness and of its usefulness. The reasons why both doctors and consumer think DTC advertisement is available and should this form of advertisement continue to be allowed in the public?

Both physicians and patients rely on the Pharmaceutical industry to adequately provide medication to address public health concerns ranging from depression to obesity, to name a few. An increased reliance on medication leads to the creation of one of the largest and most profitable pharmaceutical corporations to exist across the world. However, because pharmaceutical companies profit from the drugs they sell, they have incentives to influence the public into buying the drugs they produce; the main objective of pharmaceutical companies then becomes primarily to maximize profits through the selling of drugs, while disregarding the well-being of the population (Moynihan and Mintzes 2010, 2). Thus, Pharmaceutical drug marketing leads to the

The best course of action, in protecting consumers of prescription medicine, would be to ban direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of these medications. Research has shown that DTC ads provide biased educational materials that promote medication over healthy alternatives (Stange, 2007). Conversations between the patient and health care provider revolve around DTC ads rather than the patient’s personal health. Discussing why the DTC drug is not the best option for the patient could result in decreased conversations about the patient’s behavior, family health history or recent patient health concerns. DTC advertisements create an environment through which patient vulnerability and fear of illness is manipulated and the selected drug serves as the best solution. These advertisements should encourage the patient to encourage communications between the patient and doctor on ways to become healthier; instead they foster a belief that drug dependency is a more viable solution than healthy behaviors. As of right now, only the United States and New Zealand do not ban the use of DTC ads (Stange, 2007).

With the introduction of statins, reductions in LDL-C have played an important role in preventing future and recurrent CV events. Numerous statin trials have shown that lowering LDL-C results in significant reductions in outcomes such as all-cause, CV and CHD death as well as non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina, ischemic stroke and coronary revascularization (CTT 2010, 2012). This relationship was also seen for the non-statin lipid lowering therapy (LLT) ezetimibe (Cannon et al). Further, randomized trials comparing the outcomes benefit of intensive versus less intensive statins have also suggested better CV outcomes of high intensive compared to lesser intensive statins (Cite – PROVE-IT, TNT, IDEAL A-Z, SEARCH). Yet, despite the beneficial effects of statins, contemporary data sources from health claim datasets and registries suggest significant underutilization and suboptimal use of statins, even among patients with atherosclerotic CVD (Hirsch BJ, Smilowitz NR, Rosenson RS, et al, JACC 2015; Lin I, Sung J, Sanchez RJ JMCP, in press; Johansen ME, Green LA, Sen A, et al. Ann Fam Med 2014; Fu AZ, Zhang Q, Davies MJ, et al. Curr

Pharmaceutical companies market their product in a variety of ways. It can be anything from simple pamphlets to actually taking doctors out to dinners to persuade them. An enormous amount of money is spent on this marketing could go to other things, but it is instead used to influence people. It becomes less about the treating a condition and more about making a profit. It even gets to the point where pharmaceutical companies target the uneducated public and try to manipulate them. Pharmaceutical companies have turned prescriptions into more of a way to make a larger profit rather than a means to help people.

The pharmaceutical industry is the nation’s leading business with such influence, any objectives proposed affects us all as prospective consumers. The pharmaceutical sector is a 790-billion-dollar industry in the U.S alone, this includes manufacturing, distribution, research, and advertisement use (Mihaescu). According to a 2011 research study conducted by Gallup, over 52% of Americans claim they are currently taking prescription medication. In 1938, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act allowing pharmaceutical corporations to market their products to American consumers (Lee). Over three decades later in 1969, the agency issued final regulations on do’s and don’ts. One of the most concerning regulations to this day is

On the surface, statins, a class of drugs, appear to be a no-brainer. They inhibit the enzyme that the body uses to create cholesterol, essentially slowing down the production of cholesterol in order to prevent a build up in the arteries and causing a stroke. Consequently, they are prescribed to those who have high cholesterol levels and are at risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, a variety of studies show that this medicine is not as simple as it appears. With the CDC reporting about 25% of Americans aged 45 and older taking a statin, the need to assess and communicate the various risks associated with statins is more dire with such widespread use. Although the drug effectively accomplishes its goal when it is prescribed to those who

The article begins by presenting statistics of the current age demographics in America. This was published in 2003, when one in eight Americans were aged sixty five or greater, and there was an increase in people living into their 80s, 90s, and