Wall Street Journal Draws Battle Lines

The war between complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and mainstream medicine and its ally the pharmaceutical industry has taken a new turn against the people in America. On December 25th the Wall Street Journal gave a gift of support to the forces of business and the status quo with a one-sided article by an author hawking a book claiming that all CAM is a scam. I won't even dignify the article by using its name because it is such a biased article it should have been on the op-ed page.

To give you an idea of how ridiculous this piece was it called Dr. Andrew Weil and Dr. Deepak Chopra "veteran hucksters" and basically called them stupid and charlatans because they promote health without prescription drugs. The author also denigrated the NCCAM for being a waste of taxpayer money. The author's qualifications are far less accomplished to say the least.

The reason for this article and the timing is easy to understand. With the incoming administration there are going to be major changes to America's health care system and early indications are that the current gravy train of profits is going to come to a screeching halt. We can't forget that the Wall Street Journal is all about business. It's unfortunate that the paper has chosen to promote profits over the health of its subscribers. They prefer to see healthy stock prices than healthy people. This lack of common decency and morality is the Achilles Heel of capitalism.

I am here to say the Emperor has no clothes and that in the war between money and health the people of this country are increasingly turning towards common sense and away from a drug-dominated health care system that places itself on a pedestal of profit. People are waking up to the facts that have been hidden for too long and recognizing the current health care system for what it really is, a very profitable sick-care system.

I can only applaud the efforts of Tom Daschle and the incoming administration to put the health of Americans above the profit margins of the drug companies and medical institutions. I hope they continue to have the courage to ignore the army of lobbyists who are deathly afraid for their jobs.

2009 Is New Year For Medical Marketing

Welcome to 2009 and a new year for medical marketing! Today the pharmaceutical industry begins its voluntary moratorium on their branded gifts like pens, mugs, soap dispensers, bandages and everything else that can have a brand slapped on it. Many people feel it's a superficial gesture since it does nothing to reduce the millions of dollars spent to influence doctors (and millions more to influence patients).

There is an interesting nonprofit organization started by a doctor called No Free Lunch that encourages doctors to reject drug company giveaways. Our poor doctors still don't have to worry about going hungry because drug companies can still provide "free" lunches and dinners.

Let's hope that 2009 begins a year of real change in the medical community and they begin to reject the influence peddling from the pharmaceutical industry.

Older Americans At Risk From Drugs

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association confirms what most of us have already discovered the hard way ... that older folks take too many dangerous drugs. Older folks take more drugs to begin with and their more frail bodies are less able to handle drug interactions.

How big a problem is it? Experts say that among older men the number could be 10% or one man in every ten. The study says that there could be 2 million people in America taking potentialy harmful mix of medications today.

It's not just medications but combinations of medications with over-the-counter supplements that can be a problem. There are so many prescription drugs on the market and so many supplements that no one really knows all of the possible combinations or how each person will react.

BUYER BEWARE and be careful!

Drug Firm Lawsuit in Texas

Front page of the Dallas Morning News today features an article about the lawsuit the State of Texas just filed against Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson. The filing claims they used kickbacks, distributed false marketing materials and deployed phony advocacy groups to get its expensive schizophrenia drug prescribed to low-income Texans.

The lawsuit claims that in the mid-1990's Janssen provided "substantial funding" to Texas officials to influence the adoption and implementation of drug protocols by funneling it through third-party vendors, charitable organizations, advocacy groups and governmental entities. Janssen is said to have used Texas' mental health officials as "pitchmen" to get other states to adopt the drug by providing them with trips, perks, travel expenses, honoraria and other payments.

Texas has spent millions of state Medicaid dollars on the drug. Risperdal appeared on the Texas list of approved drugs for children for eight years before it was approved by the FDA for use in juveniles. Recent studies show that Risperdal fails to perform better than older, generic drugs.

"It's standard practice in the industry to influence a few key decision-makers," according to Allen Jones, a Pennsylvania whistle-blower who brought the case to the attention of Texas authorities. "But this is the most transparent example I have seen."

A Janseen spokesman said none of the allegations has any merit.

Happiness Is Contagious

Our emotions are infectious but positive emotions are much stronger than negative ones, that's the conclusion of a recent study that followed 4,700 people for 20 years published recently in BMJ, a British medical journal. One person's happiness can affect another's for up to a year too so it's not simply a fleeting ripple through social circles.

It's interesting that proximity is such a major factor in our responses. For example we need a friend who lives close to us for greater affect. The greater the distance the lower the impact. It's also fascinating that we apparently have social filters because a neighbor we see rarely can have more impact on our emotions that co-workers that we see every day.

So next time you're sad, it may just be the people you're hanging around with! Find happy people and you'll be happy too!

2007 CAM Health Study

The 2007 National Health Interview Survey of 23,000 adults suggests overall use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices has remained relatively steady at about 40% but with significant increases in the use of deep breathing, meditation, massage therapy and yoga.

The latest study is consistent with the 2002 research showing CAM use among adults was greater among women than men (42.8 to 33.5 percent), among older people than younger (30-39 years: 39.6 percent, 40-49 years: 40.1 percent, 50-59 years: 44.1 percent), and among people with higher levels of education (55.4 percent).

It's interesting to note that CAM is now being used by 1 in 9 kids but this can include supplements like echinaccea for colds. It would appear their parents' practices played a big role because kids were 5x more likely to use CAM if a parent or other relative did. The top health issues kids used CAM for were head and neck pain, colds, anxiety, body aches and insomnia.

The study was done by the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Saving $700 Million

In these difficult economic times wouldn't you like to save $700 million? That's the figure that experts say we're wasting in health care every year in America. Right now we spend 16.3% of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on health care, more than any other nation on earth, yet we rank #48 for life expectancy and 19 out of 19 industrialized countries in preventable deaths.

Recent news reports make it clear. "We're not getting what we pay for," said Dr. Denis Cortese, president and chief executive of the Mayo Clinic. "It's just that simple."

Experts say as much as half of the $2.3 trillion spent each year on health care is wasted. Since he promised every family savings of $2,500 President-Elect Obama faces steep challenges on health care.

One way to reduce costs is to capitalize on the hundreds of CAM therapies that have been proven safe and effective for hundreds, even thousands, of years. Not every health problem needs prescription drugs and high tech.