Featured Coffee: Tinker Coffee Co. - Shantawene
Americans spend more than any other country on prescription medication. Not only do we spend more, but we also pay more for the exact same medication that is sold at a fraction of the cost in other countries.
In addition to the high drug prices, prescription drug overdoses are the leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. According to Consumer Reports, the U.S. spends over $200 billion on unnecessary and improper use of medication. Between 1999 and 2010 over 750,000 people died from prescription drug overdoses.
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies have consistently and unabashedly lied both to the American public and to doctors about the efficacy and safety of their medications. Most notably, the U.S. government itself has pointed the finger at Big Pharma for the disastrous impact of the opioid crisis. Nevertheless, drug companies, including Abbott, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, and Pfizer, store away billions of dollars a year in off-shore tax havens instead of investing that money back into R&D or lowering the price of drugs.
As always, Ben and Aaron explore the reasons why drugs cost so much more in the U.S., how pharma companies have hurt the American people, the problems with the FDA, and what needs to be done to fix America’s toxic relationship both with prescription drugs and the companies who oversee their development.
Sources
Consumer Reports: America’s Love Affair with Prescription Medication
CDC: America’s Drug Overdose Epidemic
National Institute on Drug Abuse: Opioid Overdose Crisis
American Journal of Public Health: The Promotion and Marketing of OxyContin
JAMA: Profitability of Large Pharmaceutical Companies
JAMA: FDA Approval and Regulation of Pharmaceuticals, 1983-2018
NPR: One-Third Of New Drugs Had Safety Problems After FDA Approval
NPR: FDA Approves Drugs Faster Than Ever
Oxfam: Prescription for Poverty
The Atlantic: Big Pharma’s Go-To Defense of Soaring Drug Prices Doesn’t Add Up
Vox: The true story of America’s sky-high prescription drug prices
JAMA: Lobbying Expenditures and Campaign Contributions by the Pharmaceutical and Health Product Industry in the United States