Money grubbing hypocrisy
Irish specialists have given a mixed reaction to a major review of e-cigarettes that says the benefits of the devices have been underestimated and their harmfulness exaggerated.
Well, no Actually they didn't say that.
What they actually said was
Irish specialists have given a mixed reaction to a major review of statins that says the benefits of the cholesterol-busting drugs have been underestimated and their harmfulness exaggerated.
There is however a very interesting comparison here.
Statins have been around for a while and are hailed as the wonder drug to beat cholesterol, to the point where it has been suggested that the entire population should be put on them. There have however been numerous reports of rather nasty side effects, up to and including permanent muscle damage.
So here we have Big Pharma and the Health Industry [funded by Big Pharma] pushing a drug that may have benefits but also has serious, dangerous and in some cases life threatening side effects.
E-cigarettes have also been around for a while. They are hailed publicly as the best way to quit smoking cigarettes, which is one of the stated aims of Big Parma and the Health Industry. They have no known side effects whatsoever. However the Health Industry is dead set against them, inventing side effects and claiming that they cannot support something that may have side effects in the future.
On one hand we have something that causes serious, known and extremely dangerous side effects and on the other we have something that may, possibly have some side effect discovered in the dim distant future. Why is there such an enormous disparity in the approach to the two items?
Well, Big Pharma stands to make billions from statins.
It stands to lose billions to e-cigarettes.
Draw your own conclusions.
You left out a couple of words from your antepenultimate sentence Grandad "Well, Big Pharma stands to make even more billions from statins." They’re already making billions on other shite!
I sadly goes without saying. One of the world's most profitable industries?
So true, but so sad for the health and wellbeing of the human race.
Dave Dorn from Vapourtrails.tv said a few years ago that all pharmaceutical company's should be run as non for profit company's, and I agree.
Ah, but if they ran as not-for-profit companies, who would fund the FCTC and all the other smoker-hater agencies?
There lies the problem. Governments can be guilt-tripped into providing some funding on the basis of outright lies and exaggerations, but not nearly enough to enable them to maintain their very expensive propaganda drives, not to mention their six-figure salaries.
And anyway, government is there to be lied to in order to pass legislation persecuting smokers, not to support the lobbyists (although they do support, via Public Health, a percentage of the lobbyists expenses).
Big Pharma has to make obscene profits so they can support all the Tobacco Control parasites.
They are the only industry that can legally ransom someone's life. You have a fatal disease? We have the cure. It will just cost $150,000 for a course of treatment.
I'm in that 'statin zone' now, so any data on it is welcomed.
If you are worried about side effects, just take a Google at "statin side effects"! Even eliminating the crank sites and the forums [where people tend to complain a lot!] there is ample reading matter for a Sunday afternoon.
James, this is for you intended as a starting point to verify, debunk etc. fwiw http://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/cracking-cholesterol-myth-how-statins-harm-body-and-mind I only have anecdotes from two of my aquaintances – both coincidentally ex part-time rugby refs who had to quit shortly after taking statins – chronic muscle troubles. Here in France, doctors advise to take them every other day (as opposed to Brit docs who prescribe daily dosage) as this ameliorates to some degree the muscle problems.
Bon chance/courage!
I have a close friend who was put on Statins by his doc. After a couple of weeks he started to have pains in his joints so (much against the doc's advice) he stopped the statins.
But it was too late; now he has to walk with two sticks and 50 yards is his absolute limit.
I know that the plural of anecdote is not data, but seeing this guy two or three times a week is enough for me: no statins will ever pass my lips.
Welcome Peter! I know it's a anecdotal, but have seen many many testimonials saying the exact same thing or very similar. Indeed Herself crossed paths with statins causing muscle weakness which in turn caused a very nasty fall.