pautrey2
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 Posted: Tue Nov 11, 2008 8:45 pm Post subject: Prescription Drugs More Likely To Kill You Than Recreational |
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Prescription Drugs More Likely to Kill You than Recreational Drugs
The number of reports of serious problems, including deaths, linked to
medications hit a record in the first three months of this year.
The FDA received nearly 21,000 reports of serious drug reactions,
including over 4,800 deaths, over that period. Two drugs accounted for
a disproportionately large share of the problems -- heparin, a tainted
blood thinner from China that caused an international safety scandal,
and Chantix, a new anti-smoking drug from Pfizer.
Chantix had the most reports of any medication.
Earlier this year, the FDA warned that Chantix may be linked to
psychiatric problems, including suicidal behavior.
Serious drug reactions are ones that cause hospitalization, require
medical intervention, or place a life in jeopardy. The total of 20,745
cases reported from January to March was 38 percent higher than the
average for the previous four calendar quarters, and the highest for
any quarter.
Fatalities accounted for 23 percent of the cases.
Sources:
Seattle Times October 22, 2008
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Dr. Mercola>s Comments:
As has been repeatedly demonstrated, and as this latest report so
clearly illustrates, prescription drugs can, and frequently do, pose
SERIOUS risks to your health.
More than 700,000 people visit U.S. emergency rooms each year as a
result of adverse drug reactions. And, according to the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), adverse drug reactions from drugs that are
properly prescribed and properly administered cause about 106,000
deaths per year, making prescription drugs the fourth-leading cause of
death in the U.S.
Compare this to the death toll from illegal drugs -- which is about
10,000 per year -- and you begin to see the magnitude of the problem
that the pharmaceutical industry is propagating.
The problem has reached such proportions that you now see public
service announcements warning you about the dangers of pharmaceutical
drug use and addiction, just like the ones you used to see against
street drugs.
And when you consider the fact that the average American, aged 19 to
64, is now on close to 11 prescription drugs, it’s not difficult to
see how serious health problems from side effects and misuse might
ensue.
Reported Side Effects of Pharmaceutical Drugs Now Include a 1 in 4
Shot at Premature Death
This latest analysis of federal data by the nonprofit Institute for
Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) offers up some truly shocking
information.
Fatalities from adverse drug reactions – more than 4,800 of them --
accounted for 23 percent of all adverse reaction reports in the first
quarter of 2008! (This is a 3 percent increase in prescription drug
deaths from the last calendar quarter of 2007.)
Folks, if that’s not a wakeup call, I don’t know what is.
Two drugs accounted for a disproportionately large share of the
problems.
Heparin, which was found to be the second most dangerous drug on the
market, was also listed on the FDA’s latest list of 20 potentially
dangerous drugs. I recently met Bill Faloon, the head of the Life
Extension Foundation, and he told me his research suggested that
anyone taking heparin would benefit from taking 45 mg of vitamin K2,
which would not only stabilize the heparin dose, but prevent many of
the devastating side effects.
The popular anti-smoking drug Chantix, on the other hand, was not on
the FDA list. This is astounding considering the findings in this ISMP
report.
Of the nearly 21,000 reports of serious drug reactions received by the
FDA between January and March, 1,001 of them were linked to Chantix --
more than for the ten best-selling brand name drugs combined!
Chantix even out-harms the addictive troublemaker oxycodone, a potent
pain medication.
While an estimated 3.5 million Chantix prescriptions have been written
since its FDA approval in May 2006, government estimates place
oxycodone prescriptions written at more than 7 million per year. Yet
despite having about half the prescription rate, Chantix has received
more than two-and-a-half times more adverse reaction reports than
oxycodone.
And when you consider the fact that these numbers are based on a
monitoring system that relies on voluntary reports from doctors only,
the reality of this problem becomes truly staggering.
Several studies have already shown that as little as 1 to 4 percent of
all adverse drug reactions are ever reported.
Paying to Use the MOST Dangerous Option Available
Currently, the warnings for Chantix say that you may be too impaired
to drive or operate heavy machinery – a standard warning found on many
medications – but offers no clues that patients taking Chantix may
suffer blackouts and other problems that can lead to serious bodily
harm.
Of the adverse reactions reported, 15 cases involved Chantix users
involved in traffic accidents, and an additional 52 cases involving
blackouts or loss of consciousness.
And while the FDA has issued warnings regarding Chantix>s link to
suicidal acts, thoughts or behaviors, psychosis, hostility and
aggression, it has ignored other kinds of deadly harm for which no
warnings currently exist.
In fact, of the 78 deaths reported from Chantix, only 28 resulted from
suicide. According to the report there were numerous deaths from
cardiac causes, both thromboembolic and arrhythmic.
In the fourth quarter of 2007, the other highest ranked drugs are all
“black box warning” type of drugs; drugs that are intended for serious
illness. In comparison, Chantix is intended for use in healthy people
to help them quit smoking.
Never in the history of smoking cessation has any quitting product or
technique harmed so many.
What Makes Chantix So Dangerous?
Chantix, which had the most adverse reaction reports of ANY medication
currently on the market, works directly in your brain to ease nicotine
withdrawal symptoms.
The main ingredient in Chantix, varenicline, causes the release of
dopamine within your brain while blocking nicotine from occupying your
alpha 4 beta 2 receptors. Many antipsychotic drugs block dopamine
receptors, but they’re also known to cause movement disorders. (For
example, the loss of muscle control seen in Parkinson>s disease is the
result of the destruction of dopamine-producing cells in your brain.)
Now, your alpha 4 beta 2 receptors play numerous roles in your brain
and body, and are central to muscle contractions. This includes both
voluntary movement, and involuntary muscle contractions such as your
heart muscle, and the smooth muscles that line your blood vessels.
So not only does Chantix decrease your ability to feel pleasure (by
blocking your pleasure centers), which can lead to severe depression,
but it can also wreak havoc with your heart and cardiovascular
health.
According to ISMP, "These data provide a strong signal that the risks
of varenicline [Chantix] treatment have been underestimated, and show
that a wide spectrum of serious injuries are being reported in large
numbers."
Honestly, is it really worth it?
The Quitting Method Proven MOST Effective is Also HARMLESS
Nearly all quitting method surveys to date show that, long-term, cold
turkey quitters actually do better than users of nicotine gum, anti-
smoking patches, lozenges, and anti-smoking drugs.
For example, a 2006 National Cancer Institute quitting method survey
of 8,200 smokers found that after 9 months, 16 percent of people who
quit on their own were still smoke-free, compared to 14 percent among
quitters relying upon the nicotine patch, gum, lozenge, or Zyban
(another anti-smoking drug linked to suicides and seizure deaths).
With side effects this numerous and serious, it’s astounding that this
drug is pushed on otherwise healthy people for a problem that has been
proven “fixable” without medical intervention whatsoever.
How to Make Quitting ‘Cold Turkey’ Easier
I have long supported the recommendation that smoking cessation should
be delayed until you have had an opportunity to optimize your diet as
this will accomplish two things. First, it will help decrease your
risk of potential depressive complications, and secondly, feeling
healthier can help motivate you to quit smoking for good.
Removing sugars and grains, and being certain to have balanced fatty
acids like fish oil in your diet, will go a long way toward preventing
the depression that frequently strikes when you first quit smoking.
If depression does become an issue, omega-3 fatty acids have been
found to naturally ease depression. I recommend using krill oil to
optimize your omega-3 intake. For more details on the link between
omega-fats and depression, I highly recommend the book, "The Omega-3
Connection."
Related Articles:
Using Drugs Causes 700,000 in U.S. to go to ER Every Year
8 Drugs Doctors Would Never Take
FDA Announces 20 Dangerous Drugs You Should NOT Be On |
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