User Panel
Posted: 9/6/2024 12:14:53 PM EDT
Seems like the whole planet is aligning against… ‘big pharma’.
I don’t disagree, but I’m looking for an alternative view. Anyone care to step in on behalf of the presumed guilty? Here are the claims: Calley & Casey Means: How Big Pharma Keeps You Sick I don’t post much… I suppose that I’m just a typical troll, but I’m genuinely curious what this community has in terms of folks working in this field that might be able to help alleviate some of the suspicion against ‘big pharma.’ |
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[#1]
I’m not convinced they’re trying to kill us but it’s reasonable to believe that they aren’t out to cure us of anything.
Joe Rogan had a former pharmaceutical salesman on his podcast a couple of years ago. He opened my mind to the notion that their business benefits (profits) from having people reliant on pharma to treat conditions. Those same profits go down when people no longer need pharmaceutical solutions. I encourage all to apply your own critical thinking for any conclusions. However, I can not defend them or their business model. |
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[#2]
There's no money in healthy people, and cures have been suppressed in the name of profit.
There's no money in dead people, either. That's why they want us fat, sick, and stupid; maximum profit. There are a couple big pharma shills here, you'll find them. |
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[#3]
I watched that interview with the Means a few weeks ago, imho it's certainly worth watching. I ordered their book and patiently waiting on it's arrival.
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[#5]
Am I in before the, "why do you hate capitalism" and the "government has no place in private markets" people yet?
Because sooner or later, someone will come on here and say Pharma is designed to make money, and should make as much money as possible, regardless of the human cost, and that the government should not do anything to stop it. |
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[#6]
That was a good interview. I have nothing that would help big pharma's case .
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[#7]
Is big pharma killing us?
It does some and mames others. The commercial's are straight out of a SNL skit. Part of sick care. 53 and pharma free. No thanks. |
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[#8]
My personal take on typical primary care is they've given up on convincing patients to take their health into their own hands and default to a quick "here's what you really should do, but you're fat, lazy and stupid, so that's never going to happen, so here's a bunch of prescriptions instead"
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[#9]
On the manufacturing side, I see a lot of government grants and venture capitalists funding discovery of drugs that relieve symptoms of opioid use in order to allow people to continue using opioids.
Drugs that treat cancer are typically funded by private investors, sometimes to get a family member enrolled in a clinical study, and do not attract as much investment. |
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[#10]
I think pharma reps should not be allowed to make sales calls to doctors.
Seems everytime I go to the doc they want to start me on some drug that I will need to take for the rest of my life. Trying to eat healthy limit my carbs, sugar and salt intake but everytime they get a visit from some pharma rep they start pushing whatever drug they sold them and they get a kick back from they try to push it on me. |
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[#11]
It's incredibly naive to think that if a cure for cancer was discovered tomorrow that only costs a dollar to make, that pharmaceutical companies wouldn't still make billions from it.
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[#13]
Quoted: Am I in before the, "why do you hate capitalism" and the "government has no place in private markets" people yet? Because sooner or later, someone will come on here and say Pharma is designed to make money, and should make as much money as possible, regardless of the human cost, and that the government should not do anything to stop it. View Quote The dogma runs deep and it still amazes me how many people defend any and all practices of the industry even after the shit they pulled with the Covid vaxxes. I know I know I hate capitalism. |
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[#14]
Quoted: It's incredibly naive to think that if a cure for cancer was discovered tomorrow that only costs a dollar to make, that pharmaceutical companies wouldn't still make billions from it. View Quote I lean this way. Companies would be stumbling over each other to get the first cure out to make money on it. Almost everyone will get some form of cancer, at some point. Any real cures to things would be perpetual money makers. There's like 8 billion people in the world, and always new people. I think the reality is more mundane. Human biology and disease is still not well understood and incredibly complex. "Cures" are simplistic, magical/utopic type thinking that doesn't really exist. It's like thinking, if only capitalists got out of the way then Marxist utopia would come about and "cure" society of all its ails. It's nonsense thinking. Diseases and cancer are complex. The boogie-man of Big Pharma is not nearly as omni-potent as some people think. Of course, it's not innocent either. |
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[#15]
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[#16]
Companies like Blackrock own the food companies that put poison in your food to make you sick and also own the pharmaceutical companies that sell you the treatment. They never seem to sell you a cure though.
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[#17]
Greed and the Pharmaceutical Industry-Ron Piana Another interview that has some good info. A little long, but definitely worth watching. |
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[#18]
As others have said, there is no money in healthy people. Between the pharma companies inventing drugs for illnesses that don't exist, and then being allowed to advertise 24/7 on television and sponsor "news" shows, food companies creating unnatural highly processed 'foods' that make you sick and addicted to them, Coca-Cola paying for "scientific" studies to show high fructose corn syrup is good for you, schools eliminating physical education programs, and everyone staring at their phones which destroys your dopamine and serotonin systems....this country is fucked.
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[#19]
Big pharma is making great strides in using mRNA technology to cure various cancers. What used to take years of development for a vaccine, can now take weeks or months. So what is wrong with a profit motive? If you think back to the days of 16th century, why did explorers sail around the world, it was in search of a profit, they wanted a short-cut way to China to bring in spices to Europe. And the Spanish Conquistadors were looking for gold. Very few of these explorers were altruistic.
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[#20]
Quoted: My personal take on typical primary care is they've given up on convincing patients to take their health into their own hands and default to a quick "here's what you really should do, but you're fat, lazy and stupid, so that's never going to happen, so here's a bunch of prescriptions instead" View Quote My PCPs over the last two decades have bitched repeatedly about that. They have both advised vigorous cardio and weight training and low to moderate carb diets with sensible caloric intake. That's all they can do besides refer acute conditions to specialists. But no one listens, or acts. So increasingly complex "hold the line" drug treatment to chronic problems that could be handled by lifestyle change proliferates. "Big Pharma" responds to market forces, just like "Big Food, "Big Oil", "Big Capitalism" and all the other simple minded liberal Boogeymen do. The market responds to human nature, not planned conspiracies. There are huge successes in lifestyle improvements from many drugs, and at the same time some interventions amount to long term palliative care for people who simply will not modify their mix of utter sedentariness, ultra high caloric intake of mostly sugar and toxic anger, frustration and isolation from being glued to the boob tube for life. |
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[#21]
Quoted: I lean this way. Companies would be stumbling over each other to get the first cure out to make money on it. Almost everyone will get some form of cancer, at some point. Any real cures to things would be perpetual money makers. There's like 8 billion people in the world, and always new people. I think the reality is more mundane. Human biology and disease is still not well understood and incredibly complex. "Cures" are simplistic, magical/utopic type thinking that doesn't really exist. It's like thinking, if only capitalists got out of the way then Marxist utopia would come about and "cure" society of all its ails. It's nonsense thinking. Diseases and cancer are complex. The boogie-man of Big Pharma is not nearly as omni-potent as some people think. Of course, it's not innocent either. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: It's incredibly naive to think that if a cure for cancer was discovered tomorrow that only costs a dollar to make, that pharmaceutical companies wouldn't still make billions from it. I lean this way. Companies would be stumbling over each other to get the first cure out to make money on it. Almost everyone will get some form of cancer, at some point. Any real cures to things would be perpetual money makers. There's like 8 billion people in the world, and always new people. I think the reality is more mundane. Human biology and disease is still not well understood and incredibly complex. "Cures" are simplistic, magical/utopic type thinking that doesn't really exist. It's like thinking, if only capitalists got out of the way then Marxist utopia would come about and "cure" society of all its ails. It's nonsense thinking. Diseases and cancer are complex. The boogie-man of Big Pharma is not nearly as omni-potent as some people think. Of course, it's not innocent either. Stanislaw Burzynski look up this man. He’s had a cure for cancer since the 70’s. Although the FDA and other pharmaceutical companies say it’s medical quackery, the people he’s cured of cancer would say otherwise. He has a documentary on YouTube. I’m also inline to believe big pharma is more out to make money than cure people. Just look at the opioid epidemic they caused. They knew it was extremely addictive, but they hid that information so they could make more money. I love capitalism, but the line has to be drawn when it interferes with our life, liberty and pursuit of freedom. |
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[#23]
Well yeah. Our disease rate is largely due to eating unhealthy and getting no exercise. Pharma isn't in the business of making you healthy. They sell you drugs to try and mask the damage.
Pharma and food companies absolutely knowingly poison you for profit and they spend billions influencing agencies, media and politics to make sure you think they aren't. |
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[#24]
Love the idea of using tax advantaged dollars for healthy food. HSA for pharma, but not for meat and vegetables is dumb.
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[#25]
Quoted: Well yeah. Our disease rate is largely due to eating unhealthy and getting no exercise. Pharma isn't in the business of making you healthy. View Quote While I’m not a big believer that they’re actively trying to kill us, there is money in treatments. One other thing to realize about our disease rates is that we’re living far longer (despite the poor food choices and lack of exercise). So a lot longer time for things to go bad and need treatment for those problems too. |
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[#26]
Big pharma is about $$ and $$ alone. Safety and actually helping people takes a seat waaay in the back, if at all.
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[#27]
Quoted: Stanislaw Burzynski look up this man. He’s had a cure for cancer since the 70’s. Although the FDA and other pharmaceutical companies say it’s medical quackery, the people he’s cured of cancer would say otherwise. He has a documentary on YouTube. I’m also inline to believe big pharma is more out to make money than cure people. Just look at the opioid epidemic they caused. They knew it was extremely addictive, but they hid that information so they could make more money. I love capitalism, but the line has to be drawn when it interferes with our life, liberty and pursuit of freedom. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: It's incredibly naive to think that if a cure for cancer was discovered tomorrow that only costs a dollar to make, that pharmaceutical companies wouldn't still make billions from it. I lean this way. Companies would be stumbling over each other to get the first cure out to make money on it. Almost everyone will get some form of cancer, at some point. Any real cures to things would be perpetual money makers. There's like 8 billion people in the world, and always new people. I think the reality is more mundane. Human biology and disease is still not well understood and incredibly complex. "Cures" are simplistic, magical/utopic type thinking that doesn't really exist. It's like thinking, if only capitalists got out of the way then Marxist utopia would come about and "cure" society of all its ails. It's nonsense thinking. Diseases and cancer are complex. The boogie-man of Big Pharma is not nearly as omni-potent as some people think. Of course, it's not innocent either. Stanislaw Burzynski look up this man. He’s had a cure for cancer since the 70’s. Although the FDA and other pharmaceutical companies say it’s medical quackery, the people he’s cured of cancer would say otherwise. He has a documentary on YouTube. I’m also inline to believe big pharma is more out to make money than cure people. Just look at the opioid epidemic they caused. They knew it was extremely addictive, but they hid that information so they could make more money. I love capitalism, but the line has to be drawn when it interferes with our life, liberty and pursuit of freedom. His therapy is expensive. There's plenty of money to make off it. |
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[#28]
Quoted: No. Everyone just eats like shit and doesn't exercise. View Quote Yup - a lot of this at play. Open the average fridge and pantry in America and you'll find it heaped with processed foods containing all manner of horrible shit. And then we expect our doctors to give us a magic pill to solve what decades of eating that shit has caused and anything else that ails us. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly became the pharma mega companies they are today through treatments for diabetes. A disease that in about 90% of cases can be controlled by diet. Similar story with blood pressure. Eat shit, don't exercise, and we expect our doctors to give us a magic pill to fix it so we can continue eating shit and being lazy. And then we have also have plenty of cases where large and small pharma companies are seeking new and novel treatments for diseases and maladies we never had the ability to treat before. A lot of new tech in pharma has propelled the search for cures; high throughput screening, DNA encoded libraries, AI, etc. The tools we have available today to find cures to old and/or rare diseases is truly amazing. Does parts of the pharma industry abuse it? Absolutely, but the incentive structure in the pharma market has been influenced by government and insurance paying for a lot of the above. There's definitely companies looking to make the most money of a very broken system. But without money there would be no development on new drugs and cures for heretofore uncured diseased. |
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[#29]
On one hand, Big Pharma is probably keeping me alive by making meds that control some of my medical issues. On the other hand, I've rejected a lot of meds that were pushed on me to control some issues, and, so far, managed to control those issues on my own.
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[#30]
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[#31]
Quoted: I think the reality is more mundane. Human biology and disease is still not well understood and incredibly complex. "Cures" are simplistic, magical/utopic type thinking that doesn't really exist. It's like thinking, if only capitalists got out of the way then Marxist utopia would come about and "cure" society of all its ails. It's nonsense thinking. Diseases and cancer are complex. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: I think the reality is more mundane. Human biology and disease is still not well understood and incredibly complex. "Cures" are simplistic, magical/utopic type thinking that doesn't really exist. It's like thinking, if only capitalists got out of the way then Marxist utopia would come about and "cure" society of all its ails. It's nonsense thinking. Diseases and cancer are complex. Consider how many treatments we have for various things where we don't really know why they work. We have theories about their mechanism of action, of course, but there may be several competing theories that are contradictory, so they can't all be right. Quoted: The boogie-man of Big Pharma is not nearly as omni-potent as some people think. Of course, it's not innocent either. Indeed. They certainly aren't blameless in many cases and do pull all sorts of shenanigans, but they aren't as diabolical as some believe. Quoted: On one hand, Big Pharma is probably keeping me alive by making meds that control some of my medical issues. On the other hand, I've rejected a lot of meds that were pushed on me to control some issues, and, so far, managed to control those issues on my own. Yep. Many years ago, when I was 50-60 lbs fatter, I had a doctor insist that I needed to go on some medication or another for cholesterol. Of course it was rather expensive. I asked about lifestyle changes instead and they were not particularly open to it - they insisted I would need the meds regardless. When I told them I was going to seek a second opinion before accepting the meds, they blacklisted me from the entire practice. Now, having made changes to a heathier lifestyle, I have no cholesterol or other cardiovascular issues. I do have other conditions that require medication, but those are truly permanent, incurable conditions. (The medications are also both very common and very inexpensive.) |
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[#32]
Quoted: Bingo. My PCPs over the last two decades have bitched repeatedly about that. They have both advised vigorous cardio and weight training and low to moderate carb diets with sensible caloric intake. That's all they can do besides refer acute conditions to specialists. But no one listens, or acts. So increasingly complex "hold the line" drug treatment to chronic problems that could be handled by lifestyle change proliferates. "Big Pharma" responds to market forces, just like "Big Food, "Big Oil", "Big Capitalism" and all the other simple minded liberal Boogeymen do. The market responds to human nature, not planned conspiracies. There are huge successes in lifestyle improvements from many drugs, and at the same time some interventions amount to long term palliative care for people who simply will not modify their mix of utter sedentariness, ultra high caloric intake of mostly sugar and toxic anger, frustration and isolation from being glued to the boob tube for life. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: My personal take on typical primary care is they've given up on convincing patients to take their health into their own hands and default to a quick "here's what you really should do, but you're fat, lazy and stupid, so that's never going to happen, so here's a bunch of prescriptions instead" My PCPs over the last two decades have bitched repeatedly about that. They have both advised vigorous cardio and weight training and low to moderate carb diets with sensible caloric intake. That's all they can do besides refer acute conditions to specialists. But no one listens, or acts. So increasingly complex "hold the line" drug treatment to chronic problems that could be handled by lifestyle change proliferates. "Big Pharma" responds to market forces, just like "Big Food, "Big Oil", "Big Capitalism" and all the other simple minded liberal Boogeymen do. The market responds to human nature, not planned conspiracies. There are huge successes in lifestyle improvements from many drugs, and at the same time some interventions amount to long term palliative care for people who simply will not modify their mix of utter sedentariness, ultra high caloric intake of mostly sugar and toxic anger, frustration and isolation from being glued to the boob tube for life. No doubt that is some of the problem, but the big price increase for epi pens and some insulin dependent diabetics aren’t a result of laziness and lack of self discipline. Like lots of things, several problems intersected to make another. |
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[#33]
I didn’t watch the video.
But it seems to me that what we eat and what drugs we take are a personal choice. With the exception the Covid vaccine, and some childhood vaccines, I can’t recall people being forced to take or eat any particular thing. |
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[#34]
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[#35]
Quoted: Here’s an example of your “opposing view”, OP. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/256621/IMG_5526_jpeg-3314887.JPG View Quote What is this? |
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[#36]
All any one has to do to get back at "Big Pharma" is simple.
Stop taking any and all medications. Any and all of them. No shots, no pills, no liquids. Zip. Nada. Just tell your Doc (if you see one) to not bother with any prescriptions you won't be needing any. Enjoy your life until you can't without ever worrying about "Big Pharma" again. Same as "Big Food", "Big Oil", "Big Electricity Provider". Just say no. |
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[#37]
Quoted: Quoted: Here’s an example of your “opposing view”, OP. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/256621/IMG_5526_jpeg-3314887.JPG What is this? Tufts Food Compass, by Dariush Mozaffarian, the self-proclaimed nutrition guru, also known as the Dean of the Tufts School of Nutrition. Search “Lucky Charms healthier than ground beef”. Here’s one. https://fergusonfarms.farm/blog/unbelievable-the-new-government-backed-food-pyramid-proclaims-lucky-charms-healthier-than-steak |
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[#38]
Quoted: Seems like the whole planet is aligning against… ‘big pharma’. I don’t disagree, but I’m looking for an alternative view. Anyone care to step in on behalf of the presumed guilty? Here are the claims: Calley & Casey Means: How Big Pharma Keeps You Sick I don’t post much… I suppose that I’m just a typical troll, but I’m genuinely curious what this community has in terms of folks working in this field that might be able to help alleviate some of the suspicion against ‘big pharma.’ View Quote The best charitable argument I can think of is that they are enchanted with the idea that chemistry possesses potential for miracle cures and if they just keep working on it they will eventually get there. It's a "if you are a hammer everything looks like a nail" problem. If you start with the assumption that chemistry can cure anything, that's where you're going to stay as you go through your education and professional life. Put a bunch of those people together in big companies with huge profit potential and they will 100% believe they are God's gift of mankind no matter what they do. They will find ways to rationalize away any complaints or concerns. Now that the entire medical system is built around them, there simply is no other philosophy that matters. |
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[#39]
Yes.
All merchants / money making entities want to force their product on you, even if it kills you and they want you or anyone else to pay them for it. All arguments for their products are just a sales pitch, truth is great when convenient and a burden when inconvenient and they want profit regardless of all else. |
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[#40]
Quoted: The dogma runs deep and it still amazes me how many people defend any and all practices of the industry even after the shit they pulled with the Covid vaxxes. I know I know I hate capitalism. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Am I in before the, "why do you hate capitalism" and the "government has no place in private markets" people yet? Because sooner or later, someone will come on here and say Pharma is designed to make money, and should make as much money as possible, regardless of the human cost, and that the government should not do anything to stop it. The dogma runs deep and it still amazes me how many people defend any and all practices of the industry even after the shit they pulled with the Covid vaxxes. I know I know I hate capitalism. It is crazy what they get away with. I would like to see a ban on TV advertising, that would change things dramatically for the better. The MSM wouldn’t be beholden to them anymore and might start telling the truth about the problems. |
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[#41]
Quoted: Big pharma is making great strides in using mRNA technology to cure various cancers. What used to take years of development for a vaccine, can now take weeks or months. So what is wrong with a profit motive? If you think back to the days of 16th century, why did explorers sail around the world, it was in search of a profit, they wanted a short-cut way to China to bring in spices to Europe. And the Spanish Conquistadors were looking for gold. Very few of these explorers were altruistic. View Quote I don't believe you. Please convince me by identifying some of these great mRNA treatments. |
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[#42]
There's no money in killing your customers.
At least not if you kill them quickly. Humans are great at doing things to make them sick, big pharma doesn't need to do much to encourage that. |
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[#43]
Quoted: Tufts Food Compass, by Dariush Mozaffarian, the self-proclaimed nutrition guru, also known as the Dean of the Tufts School of Nutrition. Search “Lucky Charms healthier than ground beef”. Here’s one. https://fergusonfarms.farm/blog/unbelievable-the-new-government-backed-food-pyramid-proclaims-lucky-charms-healthier-than-steak View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Here’s an example of your “opposing view”, OP. https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/256621/IMG_5526_jpeg-3314887.JPG What is this? Tufts Food Compass, by Dariush Mozaffarian, the self-proclaimed nutrition guru, also known as the Dean of the Tufts School of Nutrition. Search “Lucky Charms healthier than ground beef”. Here’s one. https://fergusonfarms.farm/blog/unbelievable-the-new-government-backed-food-pyramid-proclaims-lucky-charms-healthier-than-steak Weird. Some of it’s accurate, but others are blatantly wrong. |
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[#45]
Spoiler alert: Medicine is an ART more than it is a SCIENCE.
In engineering, we know with high statistical probability, like 99%, that something will work as intended, and we know almost immediately if it can't perform. A med with "good" results might cure 40% of patients, or at least fix the symptoms, and have uncomfortable to horrific side effects on 1-2% of patients. And you might not know for years or even decades. Basic stuff is pretty predictable, on a gross scale, but the more complex you get with a med or procedure or both, the more predictability just goes out the window. Big Pharma wants to make a profit, but what they do is incredibly capital-intensive, cost-intensive, fraught with liability, and highly unpredictable as far as the chances of success. They design meds for one thing, like blood pressure, and it gives you an uncontrollable boner instead - see Viagra. That was an, ahem, beneficial side effect, and utterly unpredicted. 99.9% of side effects are much less desirable. They are not "trying to make you sick". The earth has billions of humans with millions of disease variations, if they figure out how to fix one thing today, that just lets them allocate resources to the other 999,999,999 diseases, injuries, anti-aging, anti-mood this or that, etc, etc. Note: COVID vax was your government's desperate attempt to avoid war with China while covering its own ass for its involvement, while accomplishing regime change here. Big Pharma was probably told to go along or else. |
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[#46]
Note: COVID vax was your government's desperate attempt to avoid war with China while covering its own ass for its involvement, while accomplishing regime change here. Big Pharma was probably told to go along or else. View Quote Tell me more! I’m of the opinion that Big Pharma wants you on maintenance meds. |
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[#47]
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[#48]
Growing up we didn't have ADD, ADHD, OCD or EBD. We just had retards, that covered everything. Now we have technical sounding labels and medications for each. I don't recall any school shootings prior to the 90's, there certainly weren't any when I was in school. To answer your question OP, yes, people are very dependent on prescription drugs these days.
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[#49]
Quoted: There's no money in healthy people, and cures have been suppressed in the name of profit. There's no money in dead people, either. That's why they want us fat, sick, and stupid; maximum profit. There are a couple big pharma shills here, you'll find them. View Quote While I don't necessarily disagree, some blame has to be on the patient as well. They keep coming in for things, they'll keep getting pills. Lose weight. Work out. Avoid half the issues. |
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[#50]
Some of the doctors I follow in the keto/low carb/carnivore mind set have just formed a new Diabetes organization to counter the terrible advice from the ADA(American Diabetes Association). They called it the ADS(American Diabetes Society) The ADA gets most of it's funding the Pharma and Food companies.
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