The pharmaceutical industry often uses "front groups" to promote its agenda under the veil of other interests. According to AARP, a U.S. seniors group with about 35 million members aged over 50, United Seniors Association, Seniors Coalition and 60 Plus Association are three such front groups, which claim to represent older Americans but actually push industry favoring messages.
Although all three organizations claim to be nonpartisan, they tend to support only one political party. According to one political scientist, the drug industry spends the most of any industry on political advertising--they invested more than $30 million in the 2002 elections alone, with more than one-third of its television ads bearing the name of United Seniors Association.
These organizations have all received significant contributions from the drug industry, as shown by an examination of tax records, and have been involved in pro-industry campaigning, including multimillion-dollar television advertisements during the November 2002 congressional elections.
According to AARP, the 60 Plus Association is also accused of "astro-turfing," or creating a false grass roots campaign to defeat proposed prescription drug laws.
AARP is currently lobbying for a national pharmaceutical plan to help older people pay for prescription drugs. Proposals for a new plan are politically split with Democrats favoring a government-run approach and Republicans favoring a more privatized market-based plan that is also promoted by the pharmaceutical industry.
AARP is considering a proposal for new laws requiring that sponsors’ names be released in any political advertising, as often sponsors names remain hidden.
AARP Online Bulletin February, 2003
Since the mid-1990s, pharmaceutical companies have tripled the amount of money they spend on advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers.
Is it any surprise that they have resorted to even more deceptive practices? Not from my perspective. If you understand marketing you will instantly recognize that an endorsement from an "impartial" third party is far more powerful than the magazine and television ads.
The drug companies are well aware of this strategy, as they have been using it for many decades with physicians. They sponsor studies that are published in respectable medical journals that "prove" their drug is a "logical" or "scientific" solution for the diseases in the studies.
It is rare that a physician realizes they are being deceived, as it is uncommon for the average physician to critically analyze the funding sources for the study.
Drug companies may spend over $3 billion a year to advertise their drugs to consumers.
That may seem like a bunch of money, but it is peanuts compared to their return.
Americans may spend over $500 billion on drugs this year and that does not even include the $100 billion that President Bush is trying to get approved for the Medicare drug benefit program.
$500 Billion.
Does anyone out there really believe that American are getting half a trillion dollars of benefits from these drugs?
Drug companies are not stupid. They have been able to change the rules so they can now market directly to consumers.
With this type of marketing, it is no wonder that two-thirds of doctor visits result in a drug being prescribed.
This is one of the main reasons why spending for prescription drugs is the fastest growing category of health care expenditures.
It is also one of the major factors contributing to the reason why physicians are the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Most physicians rely on using drugs as Band-Aids rather than seeking the cause of the problem.
Fortunately, you do not have to capitulate. This newsletter, and many other fabulous resources that are now available, will help enable you to take control over your own health. One of the most important areas of course is selection of foods that will promote health.
If you haven't already reviewed the nutrition plan, I encourage you to do so as it is one of the foundational pillars of healing.
The other major route to taking control of your own health is to address the root cause of your illness, and in my experience well over 50 percent of the time this will involve addressing the underlying stress in your life. I have found that EFT is one of the most effective solutions for stress.
If you haven’t already downloaded the free EFT report you will want to consider doing so. It has enormous potential to help you start along the course of transforming your life toward health and healing.
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