Effects, Not Side Effects. . .

When I watch TV, I'm constantly amazed and angered by the blatant deception of Big Pharma with their advertising blitzkrieg upon the duped American public. I won't list the specific ads and drugs, because they all have the same basic mantra.

First, they portray someone's specific, critical health issue (near heart attack, depression, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, acid reflux or heartburn, incontinence,etc.) and its horrible effect on their life. Next follows the glowing testimonial (paid actors of course) introducing the "wonder drug" that eradicated the debilitating condition and miraculously transformed their life and health almost overnight. With their crippling condition gone, now you watch them smiling,laughing, playing with their chidren or grandchildren and effusing radiant health and vitalilty.

Then the clincher: "_________ may not be for everyone, SIDE EFFECTS include..." And what follows is a horrible, monstrous, unbelievable littany of DANGEROUS EFFECTS (not merely side effects) the drug produces, such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, shortness of breath, blurred vision, blindness, paralysis, thoughts of suicide, and in rare cases, death. Those are not harmless side effects, like they want you to believe. Those are frightening DIRECT EFFECTS from taking these drugs!

"Our drug is amazingly effective in treating depression; you'll notice an immediate change; btw, just a little side-note: 1 in 10 people who take the drug have persistent thoughts of suicide, several of those end up hanging themselves from their ceiling fans (but they're smiling when they step off the chair), and a few even gun down their classmates or fellow workers or grandparents."

It's insane--the side effects are WORSE than the condition the drug allegedly alleviates! And my all-time favorite warning: "Do not take this drug if you're pregnant or nursing or planning to become pregant" Say WHAT? Tell me (if these ads haven't completely erased your logic): If these drugs are dangerous and life-threatening to a mother or her baby while she is pregnant or nursing, what makes them healthy and safe when she is not pregnant or nursing? You don't need a medical degree from Johns Hopkins to answer that question.

And then the icing on the cake: "Ask your doctor if _____________ is right for you." Honestly, with those terrible side-effects, do any of those drugs sound right for you?

My advice? Don't play Russian Roulette with your body and its delicate bio-chemical balance. These miracle drugs are nothing more than dangerous, toxic, synthetic chemicals created in a lab, rubber-stamped by the worthless FDA and falsely endorsed by billions of dollars of Big Pharma advertising.