I commend Marcia Angell for taking action against the deceptive practices that occur within the pharmaceutical industries.

The drug companies are driven by profits and have used their power to influence many areas of medicine. What is most unfortunate is that this has resulted in many biased studies, which ultimately lead to misleading information to the public. The drug companies’ intentions are evident in the $3 billion that was spent in 2002 for advertising costs and the vast amounts of money they donate toward grants and scholarships used to fund the costs of medical schools.

Their motives don’t stop there as they are also spending about $15 billion a year on physician marketing.

Most physicians have no clue that the drug companies are spending (on average) $10,000 per doctor to influence their behavior. The doctors, of course, do not receive a check, but the perks are quite significant.

They also don't realize that they actually lose that much income and more if they factor in the time they lose by sitting with the drug company reps and going to their "free" meals and lectures. Doctors also often overlook what a fiduciary responsibility is and therefore don't realize that they need to carefully analyze the costs involved in recommending expensive drugs.

Though drugs are sometimes appropriate and at times can save a person’s life, most of the time they are unnecessary, harmful and expensive. They cause patients to divert much of their hard-earned income to the drug companies, which further perpetuates this indirect physician subsidy.

If you are a doctor, you can stop this process by getting your information on drugs from real evidence, rather than from drug company reps, and only prescribing drugs when they are truly necessary. If you are a consumer, it is up to you to arm yourself with facts about prescription drugs prior to making your decision to take them.

If you want to regain control of your health and you believe the above is true--even in part--you can help change the medical paradigm by passing this message, or any Mercola.com article of interest, on to your family and friends. Just use the simple “E-mail a Friend” feature in the upper-right corner of the articles. Including a personal letter of encouragement is often more effective than simply passing it along, but that’s up to you.

This may be one of the best gifts you can give someone this year: A practical resource to help them recapture their health.

Finally, if you want to further understand how corporations and government manipulate science and the media by preying upon the public trust--and you want to know how to protect yourself--I highly recommend the book Trust Us, We're Experts. It is truly one of those books that all Americans should read, and would make an important gift for any young adult who wants to maintain control over him or herself as they enter “the real world.”

Related Articles:

Drug Industry Using Senior Group Fronts to Promote Own Agenda

Drug Industry Stalks the US Corridors of Power

Drug Industry Lies About New Drug Research and Development

Drug Industry Lobbyists Spending More to Influence Congress

Odds Are The Drug Industry is Paying Off Your Doctor

Former FDA Insider Charges Organization Swayed By Drug Industry

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