Smoking Tobacco Kills 1,200 Americans Every Day
I started smoking experimentally when I was 16, and then more while in college. When I graduated in 1967, a much older, but close family friend, told me he was diagnosed with emphysema. His doctor said if he didn’t stop smoking, he would die. He quit, me too. I began to realize smoking was harmful […]
Nanomachines May Deliver Drugs and Destroy Diseased Cells
Nanotechnology is advancing across many aspects of science, engineering, and medicine. I am particularly impressed with what researchers at Rice University are doing. They have developed nanomotors which are incredibly small. The motors can spin at 2-3 million rotations per second. The size of the motors is mind-boggling, 50,000 of them side by side fill […]
Drug Makers Putting Profit Before The Elderly
The Medpage Today staff reported this week on a CNN investigation of Nuedexta, a drug approved for PseudoBulbar Affect (PBA). The investigation found PBA is being marketed aggressively to the elderly as a therapy for dementia. Even though independent studies indicate PBA is only rarely associated with dementia, Avanir, the drug’s manufacturer, has spent millions of dollars promoting […]
Big Pharma and Politics
At a rally in Kentucky, President Donald Trump said drug prices were “outrageous”. The next day, according to Kaiser Health News, the pharmaceutical industry donated more money to political campaigns than any other day this year. On March 21, eight pharma political action committees made 137 contributions to 77 politicians totaling nearly $280,000. Both Republicans and […]
Healthcare Cost
Healthcare cost is extraordinarily high in America. We spend 50-100% more per person than other developed countries. It is not because their care is better, to the contrary. Our cost is high for a number of reasons which I discussed in some detail in Health Attitude: Unraveling and Solving the Complexities of Healthcare. The media and […]
