Ronit Ridberg has given the world a marvelous look into the fraudulent, Big Government-Big Pharma complex with her documentary film, Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs. It’s a bit dated, from 2006, but certainly, that is no hindrance to the message of the film. It’s an hour long, but worth every minute of your time. Below, I have compiled a list of some interesting points from the film. I have also included a lot of my own thoughts from my research on issues brought up in the film, so not all of the material I have presented is contained within the documentary.
Big Pharma is a monster that’s long been out of control, and that is due to its chief enabler, big government, whose bureaucrats profit immensely from promoting Big Pharma’s agenda to grow and protect its profits. In spite of what Michael Moore would say, this arrangement is not capitalism, or as he means it, the free market. It is state capitalism, or, as some may call it, socialist corporatism.
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Industry professionals discuss how Big Pharma normalizes obscure health problems, making them appear common in order to create a new market with a demand for prescription drugs. One Doc interviewed calls this “disease mongering.” For example, after the commercials appeared from GlaxoKlineSmith, suddenly everyone seemed to have Restless Leg Syndrome.
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Perhaps a most disturbing trend brought up in the film is the wacky, wild world of “things just ain’t right” disorders. Whether it’s “generalized anxiety disorder,” “major depressive disorder,” "panic disorder," “acute social phobia,” or finally, the celebrated “social anxiety disorder,” there’s a disorder to fit you and explain away your day-to-day problems. The film brings up the evil Paxil, which not only utilized direct-to-consumer marketing, but also, SmithKline Beecham took it to the print media to sell its virtues. Reporters lined up to give the drug gobs of attention as a solution for …. shyness. In 1999, US News & World Report ran a cover story, "How Shy is Too Shy?" The story referred to "debilitating shyness" and claimed that "roughly 1 out of every 8 people becomes so timid that encounters with others turn into a source of overwhelming dread." The commercial for Paxil, shown in the film, is akin to something out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie. Also see this marvelously hilarious story by Seth Stevenson, "Extroverted Like Me: How a Month and a Half on Paxil Taught Me to Love Being Shy." Written in 2001, Seth is an introvert who experimented with Paxil for forty-five days so he could write a splendid story highlighting the ineffectiveness and life-changing aspects of a powerful, mind-altering drug.
Big Pharma: Exposing t...
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- Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) is a fabricated "disorder." Sarafem, the drug created to treat the non-condition, was nothing more than Prozac repackaged for a new disease. Eli Lilly was losing its exclusive patent to Prozac. Drug patents, as we know, bring drug companies billions in revenues. Sarafem was Prozac, except that it was colored a pretty pink — such a pretty and precious detail for a lady going on her monthly psychotic binge and emotional release. So, an old drug, a new disorder, and a new patent, and Eli Lilly could make a bundle, at least until (or if) the deception caught on with drug consumers. After Warner-Chilcott acquired the U.S. sales and marketing rights to Sarafem, it successfully fought off an attempt from Teva Pharmaceuticals to make a generic version. The film notes that when executives from Eli Lilly met with the FDA to discuss approval of the drug for its made-up disorder, one-third of the members of the FDA committee had ties to Eli Lilly. This is from the website of Warner-Chilcott:
PMDD is a distinct medical condition. Common symptoms include irritability, sadness, sudden mood changes, tension, bloating, and breast tenderness. The many symptoms of PMDD can markedly interfere with your daily activities and relationships and can make you feel out of control. Some women describe PMDD as frustrating, surprising, tiring, or even isolating. It can take away your enjoyment of family, friends, or work. Some think it’s part of being a woman or PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome). But for millions it is PMDD.
