Drug Costs Rose 11 Percent Last Year--Imagine That

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http://mercola.com/2004/mar/31/drug_costs.htm

 

Drug Costs Rose 11 Percent Last Year--Imagine That

A consulting firm released a report showing in the past year, drug spending in

Canada and the United States rose 11 percent to $230 billion. Despite increased

pressure from patients, politicians and large corporations to restrict the costs

of drugs, globally the industry came closer to topping the “milestone threshold”

of $500 billion in sales.

 

Familiar drugs such as cholesterol-lowering drugs like Lipitor and Zocor,

antidepressants Zyprexa and Zoloft and heartburn medications Nexium and Prevacid

continue to dominate as the most popular medications, maintaining an excess of

$3 billion in sales.

 

Generic drugs have made up nearly 5 percent of the total pharmaceutical market

for several consecutive years.

 

Because of the increasing costs, people have resorted to taking the generic

alternative or reducing their own doses by cutting pills in half or skipping

some.

 

A few governors and mayors have been trying to help constituents by buying

medication from Canada, where prices can be 30 percent to 70 percent less than

the United States.

 

Experts claimed that prescription medications could be a safer alternative to

costly, more intrusive procedures such as surgery, particularly among the

increasing aging population.

 

Research has shown that on the average, Americans pay a great deal more for

prescriptions than patients do in most other countries where government lowers

prices.

 

Washington Post March 16, 2004

 

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

Most of you, like me, will not be shocked to find out that drug spending in

Canada and the United States rose 11 percent last year to $230 billion,

accounting for nearly half of all the worldwide sales.

 

Internationally, nearly $500 billion was spent on drugs last year. These costs

are beginning to take their toll on all areas of our life, from our education to

the cars we buy.

 

The solution is to search for alternatives that treat the underlying cause of

the diseases that we face. Hopefully, that is what you will learn from reading

these pages.

 

The best defense against the rising costs of medications is a good offense,

which means staying healthy and off medications. In addition to following a

healthy diet and reducing emotional stress, one way you can effectively build

your immune system and ward off the need for medications is through detoxifying

your body with Chlorella. Chlorella, a single-cell algae plant, is a powerful

detoxification aid that contains a wide-array of vitamins that can never

accumulate in your body and become toxic. As foods go, chlorella is among the

elite few that reside in the “Near Perfect” category.

 

Related Articles:

 

Increased Spending on Drugs is Linked to More Advertising

 

How to Lower Your Prescription Drug Costs

 

Medicare Reform: What to Expect From the Expansion

 

Pharmaceutical Drugs: Your Money AND Your Life

 

Spin and the Pharmaceutical Industry: Proudly Protecting Profits by Scaring You

 

Health Care Spending Reaches Unprecedented Amount

 

 

 

 

 

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