Big Pharma
A War for Drugs The media constantly bombards viewers with the so-called “war on drugs”; indeed the issue that many nations face is one of concern. Due to competition among drug cartels, innocent people suffer injuriously; therefore, these nations wage a theoretical war against the spread and corruption of drugs. However, aside from there being a “war on drugs”, it seems that in today’s modern quest for perfect health, or at least prolonged health, the drug industries in the United States (also addressed as Big Pharma) compete to find and sell the next big drug. These drug industries do not wage war against drugs, instead a “war for drugs”. Nevertheless, what kind of drug is Big Pharma after? According to Sonia Shah, investigative journalist
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Similar to the way that Americans will do anything possible to prolong life expectancy and the condition of life, many young Americans will also stop at nothing to do some “cosmetic neurology”(Carey 3). Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, cited in an article found in the New York Times, stated that the disposition to abuse cognitive-enhancing drugs (or drugs manufactured to increase productivity for those who suffer from health or mental impairments) reflects the winner-take-all culture of the twenty-first century (Carey 3). Recent polls and surveys have revealed that 34% of college students confess to the illegal use of ADHD stimulants (DeSantis 315). What are the reasons for this detrimental doping? The high stakes in education; students work to outperform their peers so that they can earn high GPAs and secure the limited career positions available. The heightened competitiveness leads healthy students to give into the pressure of cognitive-enhancing …show more content…
In simple terms, discourage and put a halt to the easy use (and abuse) of these drugs. In fact, due to the increasing number of drug-abuse related deaths and suicides, national figures have begun to promote changes to the way health-care professionals treat and attend their patients. Last year, the attorney general of New York, Eric Schneiderman, introduced the internet system, I-STOP, which is “an online database that enables doctors and pharmacists to report and track controlled narcotics in real time (ag.ny.gov).” This is a change that the government could help make; these laws already exist, but they need enforcement by the medical professionals. What is their obstacle? Pharmaceutical companies prosper, as do the insurance companies, when more and more clinicians (careless of whether their patient is genuinely ill or going after an A on a final) diagnose their patients with ADHD and prescribe Adderall or Ritalin. Shah also mentions that better funding of the FDA can improve the overseeing of the drug industries and the CROs
Similar to the way that Americans will do anything possible to prolong life expectancy and the condition of life, many young Americans will also stop at nothing to do some “cosmetic neurology”(Carey 3). Dr. Anjan Chatterjee, cited in an article found in the New York Times, stated that the disposition to abuse cognitive-enhancing drugs (or drugs manufactured to increase productivity for those who suffer from health or mental impairments) reflects the winner-take-all culture of the twenty-first century (Carey 3). Recent polls and surveys have revealed that 34% of college students confess to the illegal use of ADHD stimulants (DeSantis 315). What are the reasons for this detrimental doping? The high stakes in education; students work to outperform their peers so that they can earn high GPAs and secure the limited career positions available. The heightened competitiveness leads healthy students to give into the pressure of cognitive-enhancing …show more content…
In simple terms, discourage and put a halt to the easy use (and abuse) of these drugs. In fact, due to the increasing number of drug-abuse related deaths and suicides, national figures have begun to promote changes to the way health-care professionals treat and attend their patients. Last year, the attorney general of New York, Eric Schneiderman, introduced the internet system, I-STOP, which is “an online database that enables doctors and pharmacists to report and track controlled narcotics in real time (ag.ny.gov).” This is a change that the government could help make; these laws already exist, but they need enforcement by the medical professionals. What is their obstacle? Pharmaceutical companies prosper, as do the insurance companies, when more and more clinicians (careless of whether their patient is genuinely ill or going after an A on a final) diagnose their patients with ADHD and prescribe Adderall or Ritalin. Shah also mentions that better funding of the FDA can improve the overseeing of the drug industries and the CROs