Big Pharma cashes in on abuse of human-growth hormone
December 26, 2012 at 3:47 pm in Grand Forks Herald
Whether for athletics or age, Americans from teenagers to baby boomers are trying to get an edge by illegally using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone, despite well-documented risks. This is the second of a two-part series. Continue Reading
One thing about the United States is that Big Pharma is allowed to flood cable t.v. with drugs. Usually these are drugs that promise better love lives for the older generation…you know, the couples that end up side by side in bathtubs on a beach somewhere looking at the sunset. The newest ad that makes me shake my head is a liquid testosterone for men that can be rolled on to the armpit like a deoderant. Of course the promise is, again, a better love life for the older generation. At what cost? Don’t let your kids or your wife to come into contact with this stuff because there are health consequences . I’ve heard of some doctors warning of a higher risk of cancer later in life due to the use of this product. We are bombarded with these ads…….and yes, along with the ads come all the warnings. But who is listening to those warnings? My point is, isn’t Big Pharma making enough money as it is? Do they really have to advertise this junk? Isn’t it the job of your family doctor to let you know about these drugs? Many of these drugs have unpleasant side effects….even deadly side effects. Othe countries don’t even allow Big Pharma to advertise like this. Too dangerous to the general population. But hey……First Amendment rights = big profits = greed.
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…and that armpit testosterone is the very same anabolic steroid that is on all the dope test banned lists! Young athletes and body builders don’t need to find an illicit source — they can just get it at the pharmacy!
Next thing will probably be gift cards for it when you buy a new AR-15!
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Without a pharmacy plan on your insurance testosterone is $400 – $600 a month. Since your average HS or college student cannot afford that, who is procuring the prescription & who is paying for it.
Common sense would say the father, uncle, or some other team booster
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Like any other big business, big pharm has a group of shareholders demanding higher profits. Big Pharm is first & foremost a business. It IS NOT operated with the public good in mind. They do not get any more heaven points for operating their business than McD does.
Because of this they are constantly looking for new revenue streams.
The largest R&D in the last decade is a male birth control pill that is effective & still allows the user to function. That is correct: it is not a new breast cancer or diabetes medicine, it is another male sex drug.
Big Pharm learned the lesson of Viagra very well
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You forgot to mention how big pharma is in cahoots with the AMA, whose official optimal one-size-fits-all measurements for cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, et al, considered invalid in many other countries, assure most people end up on medication. It’s how Pfizer, before the expiration of its patent, had sales for Lipitor at $18 billion a year.
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Absolutely correct: everyone on a statin, regardless if they need it or the side effects it induces.
Thank God I have good genes when it comes to cholesterol.
Everyone on my Dad’s side of the family died of cancer. I am just waiting to see what type claims me.
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“Isn’t it the job of your family doctor to let you know about these drugs?”
I wonder how many actually keep up on the literature. Some years ago I turned down the prostate test because it was returning 80% false positives. The doctor wasn’t aware of that study. Doctors get the bulk of their info from pharma reps, who come with their brochures and goodies. Big pharma spends as much on advertising as it does on R & D.
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Sometimes I wonder if it isn’t more..
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Get a PSA.
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That is what was giving the false positives.
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I just read that PSA testing saved about 56,500 lives but at the same time 943,500 men were overdiagnosed. I didn’t realize this. Prostate cancer isn’t a comfortable thing to have treated. To have it done unnecessarily would upset most men … for sure. But if it were me I would have the PSA test and monitor the numbers over time. It’s not a one and done thing … as I’m sure you already know. Do this while you are still covered under your health insurance at UND. You don’t want to treat an illness like this when you are on medicare.
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Mammograms give false positives as well, but they also save lives. Not having a psa test is short-sighted. You can always just not have a more invasive biopsy if you want to. On the other hand, a track record of psa levels will help identify a serious issue over the years. A sudden and steep spike will get your attention.
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In the 1980 there was a sleeping pill – Quaaludes – that were almost never prescribed but manufactured by the tens of thousands. They were a very popular recreational drug. The FDA finally caught on & all but prohibited their manufacture & sale.
HGH is needed by a very select few. I can see much tighter controls in the future. Big Pharm will have a fit – it is a profitable item – but it is bound to happen.
As long as there is the Internet, China, & Mexico; these drugs will be available.
Wait until the first bochulism, hepatitis, or HIV outbreak from contaminated stock, like we saw with the steroids this year.
If HGH is all but prohibited, US manufacturers will stop making it. Then those that actually need it will be put at risk..
No easy solution
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Back in the 70′s they used to set up phony pharmacies in Mexico and order all kinds of goodies from America and then mule them back across the border. A lot of speed when they still had diet pills, and a lot of downers like ludes and other pain killers. Trouble was they were ordering too much of the drugs they could make a killing on the street and not many of the other kinds of drugs…..So naturally the DEA put a stop to that….If there’s a market then it’s easy to make a black market
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In the words of the great philosopher Xaviera Hollander in her book “The Happy Hooker” Said something to the efffect that one big difference between women from America and women from Europe was Eruopean women generally tried to grow older gracefully while American Women tried to hold on to youth as long as they can. Obviously this is true of a lot of the men too.
Doing what you can do naturally to keep yourself looking and feeling younger is one thing, but trying to beat nature through medicine…….I think the old adage about for every action there’s an opposit and equal reaction really comes into play….Something’s bound to give….
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