Chris Rock on Drug Companies

[Guest guest]

http://www.mercola.com/2005/oct/22/chris_rock_on_drug_companies.htm

 

 

 

Chris Rock on Drug Companies

 

Chris Rock's brilliant stand-up routine includes some riffs on the

ubiquitous television drug commercials that " keep naming symptoms till

they get one " that the viewer has.

 

Even if the ads don't mention what it is the medicine is supposed to

do: " You see a lady on a horse or a man in a tub, and they just keep

naming symptoms: 'Are you depressed?' 'Are you lonely?' 'Do your teeth

hurt?' " Even " 'Do you go to bed at night and wake up in the morning?'

They got that one! " he adds. " I got that. I'm sick. I need that pill! "

 

The New York Times quotes Chris Rock as part of its review of Greg

Critser's new book, Generation RX. This book examines how baby boomers

and their offspring have become the most medicated generations in

history, taking pills that promise to " do everything from guarding us

against our excesses of drink, food and tobacco, to increasing our

children's performance at school, to jump-starting our own

productivity at work, to extending our very time on this mortal coil. "

 

Critser traces the massive growth of drugs claiming to do everything

to the loosening and speeding up of the regulatory processes that used

to keep the big pharmaceutical companies in check.

 

As an onslaught of money and lobbyists has made the government

increasingly willing to do the bidding of drug companies, and doctors

are similarly besieged with advertising, the barriers between Big

Pharma and the public have grown thin and porous.

 

New York Times September 30, 2005 Registration Required

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Chris Rock's routine is right on the money. It's great that the social

critics like Rock and the muckrakers like Critser are exposing the

truth about what's going on in the drug industry. Sometimes it's so

ridiculous you just have to laugh.

 

But it's also a serious issue. For those of you who regularly read my

newsletter, you know that I strongly advise AGAINST using drugs when

possible. And, though drugs are sometimes appropriate and at times can

save a person's life, most of the time they are unnecessary, harmful

and expensive. The drug companies aren't interested in saving your

life; they're interested in taking your money.

 

As Critser points out and Rock implies, 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.

 

In addition, health costs are rising through the roof, and shortly we

will be spending over $2 trillion a year for health care in the United

States! It is safe to estimate that over three-fourths of this money

is wasted on short-term fixes, primarily drugs and surgeries, which in

no way address the long-term cause of the problem.

 

Further, the far-too-cozy relationship between government agencies

like the FDA and major drug companies lets Big Pharma get away with

practically anything they want. This has much to do with why I'm so

focused on my vision of exposing the existing medical paradigm's

techniques, habits and messages that have put your health and that of

the American public in grave danger.

 

The key to caring for illnesses is to focus on finding the underlying

cause of the problem. It is possible to maintain total health by

avoiding unnecessary drugs and by gaining a comprehensive

understanding of good nutrition and proper lifestyle choices. Here are

some general guidelines to achieving good health (without the use of

harmful drugs) that seem to hold true for all people:

 

* Eliminate sugar and grains

* Eat unprocessed, high-quality foods, organic if possible, right

for your metabolic type

* Eat your food as close to raw as possible

* Have omega-3 fish oil

* Exercise regularly

 

Related Articles:

 

Is Congress Taking Handouts From the Drug Companies?

 

Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World

 

Hundreds of NIH Scientists Accept Drug Companies' Money