HEALTH CARE : Cure Worse Than the Disease?

SLEEVES UP. The elderly, who account for most influenza deaths, have been urged for decades to receive annual vaccinations. Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images / NYT.
'To be approved as a drug, harm must be proven'
By Janet Gilles / The Rag Blog / September 2, 2008

The New York Times has two articles undermining the present widespread belief in the American medical care system. It is not so much backed up by science as we would expect and hope, but rather backed up by the bottom line and corporate profits.

Our public health officials say that we can never achieve our health goals while we subsidize junk food, and now Lancet publishes research showing that a heart medicine taken by millions every day does not improve health but does contribute to cancer.

To be approved as a drug, harm must be proven. That is why you need a prescription. If it is harmless, no prescription needed, but on the other hand, without the pharmaceutical sales crew, there is not much chance your doctor will have heard about harmless remedies.

Cholesterol lowering:

For Widely Used Drug, Question of Usefulness Is Still Lingering / New York Times / September 1, 2008

And the futility of the flu vaccine:

Doubts Grow Over Flu Vaccine in Elderly / New York Times / September 1, 2008

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