Prescripti
on drugs are becoming a leading cause of death in the 21st century. According to Times analysis of the death statistics more people were killed by prescription drugs than motor vehicle accidents; 36,284 people died from car accidents and 37,485 people overdosed from the hefty amount of drugs prescribed to them by their primary health care physicians. Prescription drug fatalities are becoming an increasing concern as the death rate has between 2000 and 2008 has tripled among those aged 50 to 69. Commonly used and abused prescriptions drugs include OxyContin, Vicodin, Xanax and Soma. The Times analysis also found that prescription drugs now cause more deaths than heroin and cocaine combined.
Pharmageddon was coined by Ivan Illich in 1976 due to his increasing concern over conventional medical practices and its effect on public health. Ivan defined pharmageddon as “the prospect of a world in which medicine and medicine produce more ill-health, and when medical progress does more harm than good.” Currently we are noticing the need to investigate this trend and the risk factors that exploit it.
Pharmaceutical companies have a powerful influence on the health care system, drug treatments, and health outcomes. Over half the pharmaceutical companies in the world are located in the United States and our health as a nation is a reflection of the long term effect pharmaceutical drugs have on a society. Excessive marketing and over prescription has created the powerful pharmaceutical industry whose primary goal is to suppress the body’s natural expression of symptoms and not explore the root of the problem, therefore no true healing can ever occur. When side-effects are experienced from pharmaceutical drugs more drugs are prescribed, it’s a vicious cycle that in many cases leads to death. Obsession with drug treatment affects everyone, young and old. Drug marketing campaigns display exaggerated advantages of their products and only a limited amount of information is available in small print on the potential risks that are associated with the drugs, making it difficult to make an informed decision about one’s well-being. According to a June 2010 report released by the Journal of General Internal Medicine the cost of adverse drug reactions s cost the American society more than $136 billion annually which is more than the total cost of diabetic or cardiovascular care. The Journal also stated that adverse reactions to drugs cause death or injury to 1 of 5 hospital patients, and rationalize that this was due to the copious amount of drugs that were used and prescribed, as a single patient may receive multiple prescriptions which counteract each other. How can the medical industry, the sole industry that promotes pharmaceutical drugs not take this information to heart and start making changes within their institution?
