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Prescription drugs are now the third leading cause of death in the western world
How many people are aware of the risks?
Our prescription drugs kill us in large numbers
by Peter C. Gøtzsche, 30 October 2014. Emphasis added. See the PDF.
Our prescription drugs are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in the United States and Europe. Around half of those who die have taken their drugs correctly; the other half die because of errors, such as too high a dose or use of a drug despite contraindications.
...around 100,000 people die each year in the United States because of the drugs they take, even though they take them correctly. Another 100,000 die because of errors, such as too high a dose or use of a drug despite contraindications. Our drug agencies are not particularly helpful, as they rely on fake fixes, which are a long list of warnings, precautions, and contraindications for each drug, although they know that no doctor can possibly master all of these.
Major reasons for the many drug deaths are impotent drug regulation, widespread crime that includes corruption of the scientific evidence about drugs and bribery of doctors, and lies in drug marketing, which is as harmful as tobacco marketing and, therefore, should be banned.
We should take far fewer drugs, and patients should carefully study the package inserts of the drugs their doctors prescribe for them and independent information sources about drugs such as Cochrane reviews, which will make it easier for them to say “no thanks”.
WIND: your doctor is part of a system that tries to fool him/her. Therefore, you cannot trust your doctor to have the right answers. Indeed, many doctors are tightly bound to follow only standard protocols, or be fired.
You have to look out for yourself, be your own advocate.
The smart move is to avoid prescription drugs unless there is an overwhelmingly evidence of safety and efficacy for people like you (e.g., the elderly if you are so).
