The FDA and the drug companies are under heavy scrutiny these days … and with good reason. Heres more proof that if Big Pharma were to disappear today, more people would be alive tomorrow.
Plavix is the 12th best-selling prescription drug on the market, with $2.2 billion in sales each year. Like many Big Pharma potions, it is heavily promoted to unsuspecting people on television. They are encouraged to go to their doctors and beg them for a prescription. Why? Well, it is been touted as a safer alternative to cheap aspirin to prevent blood-clotting problems.
The big problem with aspirin is that it causes intestinal bleeding and ulcers. A new study, however, shows that Plavix is eight times as likely to cause an ulcer as aspirin.
A Hong Kong study was the first to look at patients who had already suffered from an ulcer in the past. (The original studies on Plavix, which showed the drug to be safe, were performed on healthy people with a normal ulcer risk.) In the new study, 320 patients were assigned to either Plavix or aspirin. Eight percent of the Plavix group got a recurrent ulcer, compared to only 1% of the aspirin group. In other words, if you have had an ulcer in the past (usually caused by aspirin, thus the need for something different), Plavix is eight times more likely to give you another ulcer than aspirin.
This study could upend treatment guidelines for thousands of Americans duped into thinking this expensive chemical was safer than aspirin.
Of course, and as always, the Big Pharma company (in this case Sanofi-Aventis) defended it is chemical. A spokeswoman said that it has been used by millions worldwide with a good record of safety. Well, so were Celebrex, Bextra, Prozac, Vioxx, Premarin, and dozens of other drugs. Then, someone other than the manufacturer actually looked for problems.
Big Pharma chemicals are initially tested on healthy volunteers! That is how the companies can legitimately (but in my opinion fraudulently) present good safety data to the FDA. However, when approved, the chemical is used on the real target audience – sick people whose bodies are more fragile than healthy, robust, and strapping 25-year-old male test subjects. Then you begin to see the real problems.
You need only to look at why Plavix is now in trouble to understand the whole fraud of Big Pharma.
Action to take: If you need thinner blood, you do not need drugs. Simply go to my website and search the archives for my recommendations for atrial fibrillation. I also recommend you read my articles about nattokinase. These are healthier alternatives that work.