Spending on prescription drugs have more than doubled since 1999. Americans receiving life changing drug therapies, and U.S. life expectancy are at an all-time high. Due to modern scientific breakthroughs; drug therapies have increased the quality, and quantity of life. The rapid proliferation of drug therapies and their uses have led some to question if pharmaceutical companies are really improving our lives, or just raking our wallets of hard earned cash. It is easy to question the benefits of some drug therapies, especially when it is someone else receiving the treatment. The increasing use of drugs treating erectile dysfunction, severe menstrual issues, allergy therapy, and human growth enhancers have been used as examples of pharmaceutical abuses.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, spending on prescription drugs in 2008 was 234.1 Billion, double the amount spent in 1999. More Americans are receiving drug therapies than ever before the report also stated. Drug therapies appear to be working according to Health, United States, a 2010 study by the same agency. From 2000-2007, life expectancy in the United States has risen by over a year to77.9 years. Death due to heart disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are significantly lower. Heart disease, America’s number one cause of death is down by 35% (National Center for Health Statistics). An unintentional injury, which I presume cannot be fixed with a drug therapy, is the only cause of death to have risen in the last decade. My grandpa always told me, “there ain’t no pill to fix stupid,” so although I am safer from heart disease thanks to drug therapies, I can still unintentionally injury myself.
Due to medical breakthroughs and scientific discoveries lifesaving medications are enhancing record number of lives. It all seems like good news but, prescription drug costs are soaring in the United States. The cost of prescription drugs deter seniors and the uninsured from benefiting. Drug cost continue to increase the cost of health insurance and government programs like Medicare. Pharmaceutical companies are devoting more money to researching and developing future cures, but it is less than they spend lobbying congress and customers. Critics of the exponential growth of prescription drug cost blame direct to consumer advertising. Patient’s access to drug information has encouraged educated conversations with doctors about important health decisions. Lobbying activities by pharmaceutical companies that have gained favorable patent laws and the Medicare prescription drug act have been the contributing factors to the disproportionate price Americans spend on prescription drugs. Anti-competitive regulations of the US FDA and patent laws need to change in order to create a competitive marketplace.
The number of lives saved, improved, or prolonged since 1996 are hard to estimate. A rule clarification by the US Food and Drug Administration simplified the regulations restricting direct to consumer communications by drug research firms (US CODE TITLE 21). Pharmaceutical companies are now required to list the major side effects of their medicine rather than all of the potential effects. This change made it possible for drug maker’s ability to advise directly to their customers about the life changing benefits of their products. Prior to this ruling, company were essentially limited to educating already overworked Doctors about the thousands of newly discovered treatments. “Gone is the time when doctors held complete power and prescription medicines were treated as a sacred and separate world,” Said Belkin. Author Lisa Belkin makes an argument in her essay “Prime-Time Pushers” that direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs has drastically increased the number of patients receiving prescription drugs.
According to the Government Accountability Office in 2005, drug companies still spent 3 billion more on promotion of their products to physicians than they did on direct to consumer advertising. Although consumers are free to ask their Doctors about a certain drug, it is still the decision of the doctor to prescribe the medication. Doctors should explain the pros and cons of these drugs with their patients. Doctors should also explain why they have chosen the treatment option.
Some people have questioned the ethics of consumer advisements about drugs that do not cure, so called “life-threatening” situations. Having erectile problems might not necessitate a medical emergency, but the number of men seeking medical treatment has drastically increased since its introduction. Many of these men were long overdue for a doctor’s visit, and were found to have more serious conditions. Diagnoses for heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other life threatening ailments were discovered. Viagra should be considered a lifesaver for these men. Viagra is credited for these successes, because prior to the introduction of Viagra, most men were too embarrassed to discuss their sexual performance problems.
Viagra ads explained that millions of men suffer from the condition, assured men that it was a medical condition that they should seek treatment for, and provided information through phone and internet sites. According to the Mayo Clinic, some of the leading causes of erectile dysfunction are heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes (Mayo Clinic staff). Hundreds of thousands of men, whom were encouraged by Viagra ads to see their doctor, now receive treatment for heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. Successfully treating the cause of erectile dysfunction eliminates the dysfunction to the erectile and does not require Viagra to treat. So Viagra has saved lives and improved the quality of life for millions of men.
Drugs and therapies being advertised to consumers have increased the number of people under preventative care for serious mental conditions. A rise in doctors writing prescriptions for anti-depressants, and Attention Deficit Disorder drugs, and have resulted after TV ads for treatments were released. Depression and ADD are serious conditions. More people seeking treatment for mental disorders should be celebrated. Mental illnesses are cited as a reason for homelessness, crime and suicide. The ads for the drugs have encouraged suffers to obtain help. Sure the amount of people taking the drug has increased since the advertising has increased. Consumers were advised about mental health conditions and were encouraged to discuss their conditions with their physician.
Scientific breakthroughs, increased consumer and physician education has resulted in increased revenue for pharmaceutical companies. The results have been longer life expectancies and quality of life for all Americans. Lobbing efforts for patent protection and Medicare benefits have been the leading contributors to the spiraling cost of prescription drugs. Simplifying regulations and creating a competitive environment should be considered as solutions to the problem. Direct to consumer advertising has increased cost although the benefits that consumers receive from increased education about their medical choices are worth it. Limiting free speech should not be considered an option for lowering the cost of drugs. Better enforcement of existing regulations from the FDA will expose abuses of the system. Americans live better lives because of their access to cutting edge treatments. Their ability to educate consumers should not be considered.