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Archives | (August 2003)
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With A Stroke Of A Pen (cont.)
------------------------------------------------------------------ Page 6 of 6 Of course it does, but the real question is whether the only means of lowering it is through drug therapy! The answer to that question is a resounding NO – at least where the so called “prehypertensive” and marginal cholesterol levels are concerned. The simple fact is that the risks associated with many of these drugs far outweigh any minimal benefit an individual in these categories might gain. At the same time, the estimated $500 to $1,000 annual cost for each drug will only serve to further increase the nation’s health care costs, and may, indeed create a whole new host of problems. One need only look at the checkered history of prescription diet drugs to know that this is true. Amphetamines, the earliest form of diet drug soon proved addictive and was associated with cardiac arrhythmia and other serious medical conditions. Phen-fen was found to cause pulmonary hypertension and damaged thousands. Other diet drugs cause high blood pressure, insomnia and chest pains. A real cause for concern is that these powerful medications might be prescribed by doctors for patients who only need to lose a few pounds, and who might get equal or even better benefits from modest changes in diet and exercise. It may not make medical sense, but that is certainly what Big Pharma is hoping for. But what is even more disturbing is the notion that bureaucrats, with a stroke of the pen can label millions of healthy people as sick. Just consider what has already happened. First, 25 million American adults are labeled as “overweight.” Then another 36 million are classified as having high cholesterol when they really don’t! Then, to make matters even worse, 45 million suddenly have high blood pressure! If that isn’t fishy, I don’t know what is! That’s 106 million new illnesses, yet, it’s only going to be the tip of the iceberg if Big Pharma has its way. Now that the notion of “preconditions” has been established, the next step is to expand their numbers, all the while selling the public a bill of goods that asserts the new mandates and drug therapies are really just for their own good! What are these new “preconditions” and what dangers do the treatments for them pose? Next month, in the second part of “With the Stroke of a Pen” we’ll look at what’s on the horizon, including a pill that doctors want to force all seniors to take even though it poses grave and possibly fatal risks, and the move to place millions of children on dangerous psychotropic drugs. |
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