Health and Capitalism – Drugs

March 2024 Forums General discussion Health and Capitalism – Drugs

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    Anonymous
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    Many years ago I was a lot more naïve about health care than I am now.  I used to wander into a NHS doctor’s surgery, and feel pretty secure in the knowledge that I would be getting the best health care possible, and that I was assured this by the whole chain of people and organisations involved, from the companies that produce the drugs and vaccines, to my GP.

    No more.  It’s not that I don’t believe that most GPs do their best, and wish only the best for their patients.  I am sure they do.  But do they go back to the science, and read up on studies, thus keeping a close eye on what the pharmaceutical companies claim?

    These days, I tend to ask this question more and more: “Cui bono?” Who benefits, who profits from the transaction or situation.

    “Five of the world’s ten biggest pharmaceutical companies are based in the US, while the remaining five hail from Switzerland, the UK and France.”(http://www.pharmaceutical-technology.com/features/featurethe-top-10-biggest-pharmaceutical-companies-of-2014-4396561/)

    These pharmaceutical companies control Congress and payments are made so that they get their own way – the politicians are in their pockets.  As one health professional said, the president of the US might as well wear promotional stickers for the big pharmaceutical companies on his clothing, like the racing drivers in Formula 1.

    Whether we are talking about drugs or vaccines – it’s in Big Pharma’s interest that we keep on being sick or that we can be “defined” as being sick.  If the definition of who is sick can be widened, this is all to the good as we can be sold more drugs.  A population getting healthier would not be in their interest at all.

    Heart disease, cholesterol and the statin drugs is a case in point.  Statins are a multi-billion dollar industry in the US and elsewhere in the world, too.

    In the link to the Youtube video below, Dr Mike Vanderschelden says: “Statins are the most widely prescribed drugs in the US.  Guess what is still the most serious killer in the US? Heart disease!”

    He quotes from research data that turns the “accepted” wisdom of the relevance of high or low cholesterol levels in the blood to heart disease on its head.

    One clincher for me was when he says that, overnight (in 2001), the limit for what is considered a “bad” cholesterol level (in the US) was lowered from 250 to 200 overnight, immediately bringing the potential candidates for statin drugs up from 13 to 36 million in the US!

    (Note that in the UK, cholesterol levels are measured in millimoles per litre (mmol/l) whereas in Europe or the USA, cholesterol levels are measured in milligrams per decilitre (mg/dl) – conversion formula here:

    https://heartuk.org.uk/files/uploads/documents/huk_fs_mfsP_cholestrigly_leverlsconversion.pdf)

    Dr Mike Vanderschelden on cholesterol:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YK3KH7er9f8

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