Pharmaceutical companies are there to make a profit. They don’t have a legal responsibility to give you the best treatment.
Between 2009 and 2014, most of the top 10 pharma companies had paid fines of around $13 billion for hiding data on harms, illegal marketing of drugs and manipulation of results.
The British Medical Journal published article in 2018, entitled ‘Drug companies are incentivised to profit, not to improve health’. Here is an excerpt from the report:
Due to poor regulation and deep pockets, ‘Big Pharma’ can get away with this stuff and it’s been going on for at least two decades, which is why, around 15 years ago, whilst still working in my natural health clinic, I began to notice that more and more people were being prescribed more and more drugs. Incomplete data, biased information that does nothing to protect the health of ordinary folk, who trust their GPs, NICE, and the government, thinking that they have their best interests at heart. However, doctors are having to make clinical decisions off the back of biased information. There are some bad doctors, not many, but there is manipulation, bad data and bad science that makes it difficult for doctors to make the right decisions for their patients.
And what about preventative healthcare? It’s as though it simply does not exist. It’s a proven fact that diet and lifestyle can prevent disease and help to prolong your life. Have you ever had a conversation with your doctor where he/she discussed with you the fact that you needed to lose weight or you needed to do more exercise, or eat healthier … or did they just want to get you on the next new wonder drug?
Modelling studies have suggested that poor metabolic health, excess fat and obesity, and poor outcomes from Covid-19 would have saved possibly half of the deaths attributed to Covid-19 had these individuals been in better health when they caught the virus.
Corporate capture of public health is achieved through lobbying MPs and the government. Commercial determinants of health (strategies and approaches adopted by the private sector to promote products and choices that are detrimental to health outcomes) form the root cause of the health crisis in this country, and the undue influence of Big Pharma over our government over lobbying. Collusion between drug companies, politicians, and senior scientists for money – figures who have a responsibility to public health and scientific integrity. This collusion for financial gain is at the root of the problem.
“50% of what medical students learn in medical school will either be out of date or wrong within five years. The trouble is, you don’t know which 50%, so GPs have to learn and if they don’t, their patients may suffer.” (Dr Aseem Malhotra)
Honest doctors are finding it difficult to practise honest medicine. There’s little wonder many doctors are leaving the profession. Corporate greed and systematic political failure are bringing the NHS to its knees. We have a complete healthcare system failure and an epidemic of ill-informed doctors and misinformed patients, based on several factors:
- Biased funding of research. This is research that is funded because it’s likely to be profitable, not beneficial for patients
- Biased reporting in medical journals
- Biased reporting in the media, commercial conflicts of interest and last, but not least,
- Doctors’ inability to understand health statistics
The situation of over-medication has become so dire that one Cochrane Collaboration Researcher, Dr. Peter Gosha, has estimated that prescribed medications are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer. Over the years, I have observed the rise and rise of people being prescribed strong antacids, where perhaps a little advice about what happens as the digestive system begins to age and can’t digest food as efficiently, and how this can increase the risk of getting acid reflux would go a long way towards educating patients, or how losing a few pounds from around your middle can help to reduce the hiatus hernia that’s causing the acid reflux. Why, oh why, is the first thing a GP reaches for is a prescription pad? Is it how they’re taught nowadays in medical school? Is it because they are paid to get more people onto more drugs? If this is the case, it is nothing short of wicked when many of these drugs are not needed and, in fact, cause more health issues. If you want to learn how all this came about, read my other blog post: https://justfortummies.co.uk/do-we-really-need-to-be-taking-so-many-pills.
It’s an eye-opener!
With a little personal responsibility, faith in your own body’s ability to heal itself, and perhaps some support from a nutritional therapist, naturopath, or medical herbalist, you may be able to reduce some of your prescription medications. However, there’s a caveat here, don’t reduce or stop any medications, without first discussing it with your doctor. The best question you can ask is ‘What is the risk over benefit of taking this drug?’
To sum up, don’t outsource your healthcare to someone else. Own the responsibility! Remember, keep an open mind, do your homework, try new things, and see what works best for you.
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