Consumer Alert: Prescribed Drugs and Drug Prices

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Consumer Alert

Prescribed Drugs

The Wall Street-American flag

"A corporation's first purpose is to make money for
its stockholders, not to serve the needs of consumers.
The BP-Gulf Coast oil disaster is an example of what can
happen as a result of a corporation's obsession with profits
and their indifference and insensitivity to peoples' needs."
Opticianry Review

"Big Pharma is remarkably good at creating diseases and convincing us that we have
them -- even when we don't. They've gotten so good at it that seven out of 10 visits
to the doctor's office now result in prescriptions. In 2004, spending for prescription
medication was $188.5 billion, almost five times what was spent in 1990, according
to a report by the Government Accountability Office. Are we getting sicker? Or is
the pharmaceutical industry just getting really good at telling us that we are sick?"
Alison Fairbrother

Dementia caused by doctors?
The dope on prescribed drugs.

Common misdianosis can put
you in a nursing home or worse.

How to protect yourself and your loved ones.

By Dr. Mark Stengler

It's absolutely heartbreaking. All over America, nursing homes are filled with frail, feeble residents suffering from dementia. In many cases, these folks are so far gone they don't even recognize their own children.

But I'm going to let you in on a dark, dirty secret: Many of these patients do not have dementia at all. Their memory loss, confusion, and delirium are caused by prescription drugs!

And so are many of their other problems.

This is not just speculation on my part. It's fully documented in the medical journals. In fact, it's so common that there are even medical terms for it, like "polypharmacy," which means giving a patient too many different drugs. And "iatrogenic illness," which means any illness caused by doctors.

According to the medical journals, polypharmacy and iatrogenic illness are rampant in the United States.

One study concluded that one of the major causes of falls in nursing homes is the side effects caused by medications.

Another study found that 97% of nursing home patients take at least one drug, with 17% taking five or more!

Yet another study found that many drugs can cause Parkinson's-like symptoms and concluded that "drug-induced parkinsonism is frequent."

And still another study listed 22 different categories of drugs that can cause symptoms that mimic Alzheimer's ... plus 14 different over-the-counter drugs that can cause the same symptoms!

A Typical Scenario

A healthy person goes to the doctor for a checkup and is told his cholesterol or blood pressure is high. So he starts taking medication, which causes side effects. This leads his doctor to give him a second drug to treat those side effects. But, of course, that second drug causes new side effects. So the doctor prescribes a third drug to treat the side effects of the second one!

Before you know it, the person's health is spiraling downward and he soon needs people to take care of him. And everyone just chalks it up to "old age."

Except for the insurance companies. They know better! Recently, I spoke to a 72 year old woman who was turned down by THREE different long-term care companies, even though she passed her physical exam with flying colors. The reason given? She was on too many prescription drugs.

Yes, the insurance companies know that if this woman continues to take her meds, it's only a matter of time before her health deteriorates. And they, of course, don't want to be the ones footing the bill when that happens.

But you can fight back against this system of medicine-run-amok.

First of all, make sure you always try natural remedies first. Prescribed pharmaceuticals should be a last resort, not a first and-or only option.

Secondly, if you have a loved one in a nursing home, talk to a patient-minded physician about possibly weaning them off the drugs. This single step may make a huge difference in their health and wellness. --

Consumer Alert
Drug Prices

The dope on pharmacy drug prices!
VERIFIED ON WWW.SNOPES.COM*

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredients in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. As revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United States contain active ingredients made in other countries. This can be found in a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA.

In an independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in American pharmacies was disclosed.

Drug Ingredients Cost-Price Comparisons

Celebrex: 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin: 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex: 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor: 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasc: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid: 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec : 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%

Tenormin: 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec: 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102. 37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%

Xanax: 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril: 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809

Zithromax: 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor: 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft: 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

This may help to explain why Walgreen's can afford to put a store on every other corner. Are these excessive margins? Think about it!

From An Investigative Reporter

On Monday night, July 22, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit , did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. So often we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves.

For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are saving $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs.

"I went to the Costco site, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices.

I was appalled.

Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug Compazine which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients.

I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19.89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at Costco for $28.08." --

SPECIAL NOTE: Although Costco is a 'membership' type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy a prescription there as it is a federally regulated substance. Just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in.

*From www.Snopes.com

"This chart is of dubious accuracy, has little relevance (other than an inflammatory one), as far more goes into the retail pricing of drugs than the raw cost of their active ingredients. Pharmaceutical companies expend money on the research and development costs of creating the drugs, plus the overhead costs of manufacturing, marketing, and shipping them; as well, pharmacies must sell drugs for more than their wholesale prices in order to cover the overhead costs of store operations (including pharmacists' salaries)." Click here to view the respective chart.

Let's hear it for Costco!

See the Snopes.com confirmation of this report here.

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*Consultation with a health care professional should occur before applying adjustments or treatments to the body, consuming medications or nutritional supplements and before dieting, fasting or exercising. None of these activities are herein presented as substitutes for competent medical treatment. See Disclaimer.