| |||||
 |
 | ||||
 | |||||
|
While you are here, check out: Senior Moment (our free newsletter for those who have not yet subscribed) Visit our Senior Citizens' Resources home page. |
 |
Senior Moment© Copyright© 2005 All Rights Reserved ******************** This is a one hundred percent opt-in newsletter with a two hundred percent anti-spam policy. You or someone using your name and email address signed up to receive this newsletter. We publish twice monthly and welcome all opinions, critiques, and topical articles. Subscription link: http://www.senior2senior.org/newsletter.html Content: 1. Publisher’s Comments
I added a note to the microwave article at: http://www.senior2senior.org/microwave.html which should help clarify the safety of microwave cooking. I say it is a right if the practitioners - doctors, nurses, universities, hospitals, etc. – have accepted federal money during their education or in the case of provider institutions like hospitals, construction. You see, federal money is some of mine, some of yours, some of his, in short, it has been gathered from all of us. Simply because it is spent in the health care arena doesn’t change its origin or character. If a recipient accepted federal dollars, they now have a responsibility to pay me back, not in cash but in services. http://www.senior2senior.org/survey.html and cast your vote. Writing for Seniors A newsletter from the www.writing4seniors.org website, a place Steve Williams has a great idea and he’d like your participation. If you’ve ever had the urge to write a few words, Steve wants to hear from you. http://www.writing4seniors.org The url: http://www.surveysavvy.com/?id=1967530 I know some of you participate in “get paid” programs and thought I’d tell you about one in which I participate. It is an honest program therefore it is in this NL. Because it takes upwards to 30% of corn’s energy to make ethanol, it is still relatively inefficient. A alternative energy NL says hemp is the answer. You know, the marijuana plant. It seems this baby is twice as efficient as corn and can be grown virtually almost anywhere. I am not advocating marijuana, I am repeating what the proponents have said of its value as a fuel producer. The person writing the article said he doesn’t use marijuana but would grow hemp for the return. Something to think about, right? http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d06402.pdf The GAO can put you to sleep but not if you drug safety is on your mind. 2. Article Drug Companies And Their Hocus Pocus I receive the Bottom Line Secrets NL and in their May 7, 2006 edition one of the things they talked about was drug company tactics. The author of the article interviewed Marcia Angell, MD Harvard Medical School, Department of Social Medicine. For brevity I will only put two of the questions in this space. Question one: The increased costs of drugs reflect large investments in research and development (R&D), right? Dr. Angell: Drug industry sources say the R&D cost per drug is $800 million, on average. An independent analysis by the nonprofit consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen shows the real cost is probably $100 million or less. Actually, the big drug companies don’t develop most of the novel medications. These drugs, such as the cancer medications paclitaxel (Taxol) and imatinib (Gleevec), mostly are the result of taxpayer-funded research at small biotechnology companies. Question two: New drugs are constantly being brought to market, correct? Dr. Angell: Of the 487 drugs approved by the FDA from 1998 through 2003, only 32% contained new active ingredients and fewer than half of those (14% of the total) were classified by the FDA as improvements over older drugs. Most “new” drugs are chemical variations of older drugs already on the market – so called “me-too” drugs. Companies try to grab a piece of a profitable market by producing a medication similar to a top-selling drug. Example: Mevacor, approved in 1987, was the first cholesterol-lowering statin in the marketplace. Now, there are five more, all variants of the original – Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol. Lescol and Crestor. Even though Lipitor and Zocor are the top-selling statins, no head-to-head studies have been conducted comparing their effectiveness with Iovastatin (the cheaper generic form of Mevacor) when taken at equivalent doses. These two questions represent the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the mini exposé in this particular issue. It is no wonder big pharma wants our access to supplements and natural products severely restricted. As always, please do your own research. Until next issue, Tom Koziol Write to: Senior Outreach Ministries | |||
