I used to rant a lot about lying drug companies. I still hate them by the way, but now that I am chronically hooked on Lamictal and Lyrica, I have a grudging respect for medications in general, if not the companies that produce them.
Non-Americans may not understand the obsession with personal psychological health and mood variation that people in the USofA seem to have. What ARE they raving about? I remember a young Yank guy in Phuket who was going home that night; he told us he had taken a Valium to keep himself calm during the packing process. WTf'ingF?
The obvious reason why Americans suffer from such mass hypochondria (surely there's a pill for that?) is the propaganda that is pumped at them day after day on the idiot box.
It's the only explanation. In Asia of course we are mass fed on such crap as skin-whitening drugs and herbal viagra, but to nowhere near the saturation levels of US television.
As I've said in those previous posts, the claim of $800m for development costs is utter bullshit - it includes $400m "opportunity costs" which is money they would have earned had they invested the cash somewhere else! WTF again! Other components of the $880m are Marketing - those TV ads - and Phase IV trials, which are merely attempts to find new uses for the drug in order to extend waning patents. What a completely transparent con! Big Pharma lies to you, and it gets away with time and time again...
Because people are sheep.
Or have you stopped reading already because you have "adult ADD", like my flatmate claims she has (bullshit, I say)?
"Disease maintenance and symptom management..."
Sigh.
What about curing my bad feet, you unglorious basterds?
E@L
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ADD is a disease invented to cover up the fact that modern leftist leaning society is at odds with how to raise boys who want to run, play and make noise.
As for Adult ADD it's just part of the larger joke.
Izzy swears by Ritalin...
But allegedly she also takes a swathe of other chemical compounds purely for recreational pursuits... ;-) (p.s. love you Iz)
Oh yes Anthony, ADD in children can disappear magically when those TV Super-nannies take charge of the house.
That's because once upon a time parents actually raised their kids instead of farming it out to the school, the DVD player, the Internet or the maid.
Some good points Indiana, but I have a male friend diagnosed with ADD - and E@L, Izzy, you'd be interested to know his medication is basically "Speed"! ie Amphetamine based. I think it's called Dexedrine! He is a gorgeous person with a hyper personality. His medication calms him down and keeps him stable. Hang on, maybe that's what I need!!
I must add that my friend actually has ADHD, not jut ADD. Dexedrine is prescribed for his particular condition, and it can be a very dangerous medication if not taken wisely...
That's right Paula, real cases need real attention, but the problem is those people who self-diagnose from something they saw on the TV and then go request/demand the drug from their doctor. Then they freak out with too much and requires some other drug (say like Valium) to bring them back down! It's a vicious circle requiring more and more drugs...
No wonder medical care costs are so high in America. It's not so bad in Australia - we're still peddling just kitchen knives on daytime telly..
That's right give me some of those Jinsu Knives :-)
I don't doubt that there are real cases that do need all the help medicine can provide when it comes to ADD and ADHD. My problem is that I see it prescribed too often to young boys for simply being young boys, in that they are loud, squirmish and like to run around a lot. Basically I see their youth being drugged into a docile stupor.
Bugger the Ginsu knives, give me a ShamWow!!!
How does being a spoilt, self indulgent, overly stimulated, and impulsive attention seeker equal ADD?
We are increasingly living in a world of Non Experts willingly putting forward their apparent knowledge. As you say being educated by marketing is hardly conducive to a real and balanced understanding of anything (this from a former marketing manager)
Isn't the goal of marketing to sell people things they don't really want and don't really need?
@Indy...the flip side of ADD for that squirmy, loud, can't sit still running boy is the sugary crap he probably eats for breakfast. When growing up mum wouldn't buy it for us. The closest I came was Rice Krispies. We weren't allowed colas much either, it was a treat when it was allowed. That and we actually had to go outside to have fun in the pre-video game days.
@E@L...pharma ads on TV (along with doctors and lawyers) are an invention of the last 20 years. IIRC the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the FTC ad ban as "restricting free speech" much like they just struck down the corporate campaign finance ban.
Di: most of the laws, or relaxation of laws, that have allowed Big Pharma to shoot ahead (in money terms) like utilising Gov't funded research without any qualms, were products of the Reagan years. Dr Angell is scathing of him in her book - linked in one of my above posts.
@E@L...yep, that's pretty much when most of the US' problems began. If there's a hell I hope he's burning in it. The movie "Wall Street" sums up the last few decades really well. Trouble with that is now that that genie is out of the bottle putting it back will be a Herculean task.
I thought the genie would give us three wishes!
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