40% OF AMERICA ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS

That seems like an awfully high percentage to me, but according to an article from the AP over at MyWay.Com:

More than 40 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug and one-in-six takes at least three, the government reported Thursday.

"Americans are taking medicines that lower cholesterol and reduce the threat of heart disease, that help lift people out of debilitating depressions, and that keep diabetes in check," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said in a statement.

The annual report on Americans' health found that just over 44 percent of all Americans take at least one prescription drug, and 16.5 percent take at least three.

The diabetes thing I can see. But taking drugs to lower cholesterol and reduce the threat of heart disease? Those are both issues you can deal with by adopting a proper diet. You may not want to say "no" to refined sugar and other chemical-laden foods. Here's a tip from someone who's been sick once in the last three years (me): Stay away from foods that have unnatural stuff in them. If you have trouble pronouncing the words, even a little bit, find something else to eat.

For millennia we humans didn't eat foods with manmade chemicals in them and most of us survived.

Now, I'm not saying all prescription drugs are bad, but taking them for things like depression and lowering cholesterol? That seems like a bad idea to me. Go see a movie, plan a vacation, change your diet--taking drugs on a regular basis is a bad idea no matter what. Just because they're prescribed by a doctor means nothing. Refined sugar was labelled a "non-nutrient" back in the early 1900s by the now disbanded US Department of Chemistry and yet the fact that it has no nutritional value doesn't stop it from being included in almost every food in the supermarket.

I'll avoid getting totally off on a rant about sugar, by returning to my point--if 40% of America needs prescription drugs to take of itself, don't you think there's something wrong?

When that many people in America are doing any one single thing, you can bet there's a mint being made by someone--in this case, the pharmeceudical companies. Just think--40% of 295 million people paying for prescription drugs.

That's a lot of people spending a lot of money...

From the AP and MyWay.com:

40 Percent in U.S. Use Prescription Drugs

Dec 2, 3:13 PM (ET)

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 40 percent of Americans take at least one prescription drug and one-in-six takes at least three, the government reported Thursday.

"Americans are taking medicines that lower cholesterol and reduce the threat of heart disease, that help lift people out of debilitating depressions, and that keep diabetes in check," Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said in a statement.

The annual report on Americans' health found that just over 44 percent of all Americans take at least one prescription drug, and 16.5 percent take at least three.

Those rates were up from 39 percent and 12 percent between 1988 and 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.

The report, "Health, United States 2004," presents the latest data collected by CBC, the National Center for Health Statistics and dozens of other Federal health agencies, academic and professional health associations, and international health organizations.

Americans' life expectancy increased to 77.3 years in 2002, a record. And deaths from heart disease, cancer and stroke - the nation's three leading killers - are all down 1 percent to 3 percent, the analysis said.

The study also found that spending on health climbed 9.3 percent in 2002 to $1.6 trillion.

Prescription drugs, which make up about one-tenth of the total medical bill, were the fastest growing expenditure. The price of drugs rose 5 percent, but wider use of medicines pushed total expenditures up 15.3 percent in 2002. Drug expenditures have risen at least 15 percent every year since 1998.

The report said prescription drug use was increasing among people of all ages, and use increases with age.

Nearly half of all women were taking prescription drugs - 49 percent - compared to 39 percent of men.

Usage peaked at 84 percent for people aged 65 and over, with the top rate at 89 percent for black women over 65.

Even for people under age 18, however, nearly one-fourth - 24.1 percent - were taking at least one prescription medication. The rate rose to 34.7 percent between age 18 and 44; for those ages 45 to 64, it was 62.1 percent.

Copyright 2004 Associated Press