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Remember When
Sometimes, the cure is worse than the disease
By Cookie Curci-Wright
Today's pharmaceutical industry promotes itself with commercials that push hair replacement, wrinkle removal, tummy tucks, bosom lifts, weight reduction and cellulite removal. Other ads target the emotions, and encourage people to take a prescription drug for every kind of human malady.
Americans are being inundated with pharmaceutical advertising. These ads, which follow guidelines issued by the Food and Drug Administration, target a wide area of emotional and physical problems--everything from rheumatoid arthritis to erectile dysfunction.
According to a health report by Barry Yeoman in a recent issue of Ladies Home Journal, many of these new drugs can be had with no prescription required through online websites. The drug Prozac to treat depression can be bought for $186 for a four-week supply and Viagra to treat erectile dysfunction can be ordered for $120 for five 100 mg tablets. Experts estimate that there are 400 websites that sell dangerous drugs without prescriptions.
Today, a personality trait, such as shyness, has been redefined by the medical community. People are no longer shy, they're "socially dysfunctional." What's more, they've created a pill (Paxil) to cure it.
Worry too much? Take Buspar. Can't sleep? Take Ambian. Smoke too much? Take Zybar. Mood swings? Take Sarafem. Depressed? Take Wellbutrin. Feel a little tired? Well, according to these TV ads, it may not just be tiredness, it may be Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and there is a brand new pill to cure it. Forget something? It may not be just forgetfulness, it could be the early stages of Alzheimers disease.
If we weren't already worried, these TV ads give us cause to be.
At the end of these drug commercials, the announcer, in a blithe, mile-a-minute banter, quickly cites all the drug's possible side effects and complications. "This medication may cause convulsions, nausea, dizziness, confusion, coughing, heart palpitations, fatigue, insomnia and nervousness." Aren't those the reasons why the pills were taken in the first place? Of course, it is most likely there is another pill for the insomnia and nervousness, something to calm and put one to sleep, but chances are the person will awaken with hot flashes, delirium tremors and a polka-dot face.
According to the World Almanac, two of the most popular prescribed drugs given out in a doctors office today are: Prozac for depression, and Xanax for anxiety. Six million prescriptions of each are handed out each year. Among the most profitable companies in America are pharmaceuticals: Johnson and Johnson, Eli Lilly, Bristol Myers Squibb and Upjohn, among them.
Millions of children are being diagnosed with the behavioral problem known as Attention Deficit Disorder. Currently, the popular trend is to treat these children with the drug Ritalin. Because of this, Ritalin sales have increased more than 33 percent over the past year. An estimated 4 million children receive Ritalin in the United States today. Ritalin is an amphetamine that produces such side effects as: nervousness, insomnia, anorexia, nausea, headache, blood pressure fluctuations and dizziness in adults.
There are many medical conditions that require prescription drugs. And I'm grateful that medical science has provided them for the people who truly need them. But, more often than not, consumers are popping pills just because of a beguiling TV commercial.
The superficial world of beauty pageants and high-fashion models has been around for many years, but never before has media so urged us to replicate this perfection in ourselves. If we are to believe these ads, we must achieve physical perfection in order to live a productive and rewarding life.
So, what does the world hold for the aging baby boomers? The latest fad in youth drugs is something called human growth hormone. Aging is a normal process, but some people choose to fight it with injections of bio-engineered growth hormones. Despite the dangerous side effects, such as accelerated growth in the body's tissues or tumors, youth oriented people figure its worth the risk and pay $1, 500 for a month's supply of the drug.
From face lifts to tummy tucks to anti-aging pills the cosmetic and medical industry continually search for new ways to slow down the clock. From 1992 to 1999 cosmetic surgery tripled in number. The aging baby boomer seems to be saying, "It's OK to get old, go bald, gain weight and get wrinkles, just so long as it doesn't happen to me."
I remember with pride my exquisite Italian grandmother. She was all of 5 feet high and almost as round. Today, she'd be described, kindly, as exceedingly plump. No one in the family, including grandma, ever thought of her weight as a problem. To her husband, it only meant more of her to love, and to her grandchildren her ample bosom and generous lap was a place of warmth and refuge. I can't imagine grandma, pencil-thin, squeezed into a pair of tight designer jeans and fretting over her looks.
I'm grateful I grew up in a time when a woman's beauty was judged by her actions and not by her dress size .
Psychologists tell us that our limitations and capabilities are all inborn. Some studies say the way a person is raised--the influences of family and culture--affect who we are and who we become. And still others believe we inherit our psychological traits, abilities and emotions.
I don't know which theory is correct, but before we run out and try to change or rearrange ourselves, let's enjoy who we are and the learning process that brought us to these various stages of life.
Allison Jones wrote, "If I could wish for myself to be perfect, it would be tempting, but I would have to decline. For then life would no longer teach me anything."
Contact Cookie Curci-Wright via email at cookie-wright@mymailstation.com.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
