Pig Pharma

 A pharmaceutical company creates a drug. They spend a lot of money to do this. Millions. Tens of millions. Sometimes hundreds of millions. All this before they have a single customer. Not a single pill sold. They’re operating in the red on this particular product. It’s a problem.

A corporation exists to make money. It is not tasked with making the world a better place. Sure, there are many socially conscious entrepreneurs out there and there is no denying that they are doing more to make the world a better place than the governments they are regulated, taxed, and restricted by. Pharmaceutical companies are not among these kinder, gentler corporations. They are an enemy of humanity.

Back to the development of the latest miracle pill. Big Pharma creates a pill without a single customer existing for it. They need customers. Lots of them. Fast. So they advertise. They produce high quality commercials depicting people enjoying their lives with friends and families. These people go water skiing and they visit farmers’ markets and they go bowling. Their friends are invariably an attractive, multicultural group of active people who are so happy and well adjusted that it almost inspires envy in the viewer. This tells us that no matter who you are or what you look like, your life will be better once you or one of your friends starts taking this new miracle pill.

While these commercials are clogging the airwaves, attractive pharma reps in your city are visiting your doctor’s office and convincing him that they need to prescribe this pill. The doctors are told what the pill is supposed to fix. Sure, there may be some talk of the potential side effects, but that’s the kind of detail we don’t really need to get caught up in.

My older daughter graduated high school and headed off to Montana State University before her 18th birthday. This was a huge move for her as it would be for any one that age, particularly when she had only known one home her whole life. We’re a close family and do a lot together. It can’t be easy to move away from the only home you’ve ever known and your entire family. She did it and I’ve always admired her courage.

She was feeling a little sad after moving away and finding herself living with a dorm-mate that she didn’t really get along with. She went and spoke to a “mental health professional” at the school who immediately prescribed antidepressants.

Why?

What is abnormal about missing your family? What about that needs to be medicated away? Isn’t missing the people you love and your childhood home a normal thing?

I begged my daughter not to take the pills. I told her that her sadness was normal and that we were feeling it because there was a gap in our daily routine that used to be filled by her smiling face and her smartass attitude. I suggested taking walks, getting to know people and making friends. She took my advice and what do you know! She was fine. Sure, she got homesick but that’s okay. I get homesick when I go on vacation. Haven’t you ever been homesick? Have you never felt sad or missed someone? Of course you have. It’s part of being human.

But Big Pharma would have us believe that experiencing the full spectrum of human emotion is a condition that must be medicated away. It’s not. It’s okay to not always look like you’re in a drug commercial.

I have suffered from depression all my life. I have never taken drugs to deal with this condition. I go and talk to a professional. The first thing I tell them at the first session is that I have no intention of taking any meds. I let them know that if the only way they can help me is with their prescription pad, they will not be helping me. I’ll be seeking help elsewhere.

So, Pig Pharma is greedy and wants to create dependence. Doctors are greedy and want the goodies they get from Pig Pharma’s reps. It doesn’t hurt that the reps are usually quite attractive and who doesn’t enjoy a little eye candy with their complimentary notepads, pens, and lanyards?

A study by AHIP found that Pig Pharma spends more on advertising and marketing than it does on research. Pfizer alone spends over $2 billion per year on advertising. According to Statista, Pig Pharma accounted for 75% of total ad spend in 2020.

Percentages notwithstanding, they spend a lot on advertising. They expect a return on all that ad spend. Your life and health are of no importance to Pig Pharma. They care only about your wallet.

As a person who has suffered from depression all my life, I can call myself an expert in the field. I am not trying to say there is no need ever for pharmaceuticals. There is a need for these medications, but there is no reason to make them the first option. They should be the last. Better to start with natural remedies, which can include anything from exercise to herbal teas or journaling. I would never call on the government to regulate advertising because nothing good could possible come of such a development. I sincerely believe this can only make things worse.

Rather, it is up to you, the would-be patient cum victim, to be aware of your part in the Pig Pharma plan to make all the money in the world theirs.

Supplemental reading: 

Medicare Spent Bulk of Drug Cash on Advertised Products

Companies Spent More on Sales & Marketing than R&D