By Jackson Stonewall
Guest writer for Wake Up World
It’s no news that almost every drug carries a certain degree of side-effects in the long-term. Many consider them simply a slow poison. The more drugs one takes, the more negative effects they are likely to experience which is good for the pharmaceutical business because that ensures repeat customers. It’s often dubbed the ‘the prescription cascade’.
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However, the precise nature of the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and the FDA can sometimes appear questionable, which leads to the development of conspiracy theories and suspicions about what may really be going on.
What is the FDA?
The FDA or the Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. is an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services, aka HHS, that overlooks the distribution and manufacturing of food, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, veterinary medication and various other consumer products.
It further monitors the development of cosmetics and all kinds of biological products such as vaccinations and products meant to treat allergies. The regulations laid out by the FDA also govern food safety, dietary supplements, and cosmetics to make sure all these products are sold and distributed with accurate labeling for public awareness, education, and safe consumption.
The FDA also holds the authority to issue recalls for any products or foods it deems potentially unsafe.
What is Big Pharma?
In case you didn’t already know, the term Big Pharma refers collectively to the pharmaceutical industry on a global level. Over the years, this term has gained momentum and usually carries a negative connotation..
In the words of several authors and writers, “the term ‘Big Pharma’ is used as an abstract or shorthand entity that encompasses corporations, NGOs, regulators, politicians and – at times – physicians who are all a part of the trillion-dollar industry and who have a big say in which drugs are rolled out in the mainstream market and which are controlled/banned.”
What is the Big Pharma Conspiracy Theory?
Many people – as many as 27% according to this 2005 study – believe that the Big Pharma industry holds a cure for many life-threatening diseases like cancer but that it’s suppressing the cure or simply keeping it from the public so they can continue to earn a profit off of selling medicines that clearly contain several long-term side-effects
Linked to the notion that big pharma may be withholding cures is the theory that big pharma is declining to investigate herbal or holistic treatments. Because those routes won’t bring them any monetary benefits, big pharma appears indifferent to studying the causality of those herbal/natural treatments and their relationship with chronic ailments that often demand a wholesome and a multilateral approach. To fully understand why, one needs to understand the driving force behind the big pharma industry.
Big Pharma – What Drives Them?
From a certain perspective, the goal of the Big Pharma can sound somewhat paradoxical in nature. On one hand, it is all about studying and designing medications that can overcome life-threatening diseases. But, upon scratching the surface, it can seem like the eventual goal may not be to ensure and safeguard public health, but to keep the big bucks raining.
While some of the wilder theories may not be true, it’s hard not to acknowledge that a money-driven trillion pound industry is sure to put profit ahead of other more benign motives. .
After all, logic tells us unequivocally that there will only be an actual need for big pharma’s drugs so long as there are sick people out there.
Where Things Get Tricky
Although conspiracy theories are always interesting as they scratch a certain existential itch – here’s another perspective to look at things:
It may not necessarily be true that pharmaceutical companies are hiding medicines or suppressing the cure for some of our most debilitating conditions. It could just be that they are not necessarily or particularly digging into those areas.
The entire medical industry is a complex system and largely invested in studying and treating the SYMPTOMS, not the actual CAUSE of the illness.
That should probably explain why doctors barely talk about nutrition and healthy food choices while treating their patients. Because the approach is not multilateral. The medication is supposed to work in silos on the specific symptoms for a specific illness.
Any company that is in the business of making money has to ensure that the money keeps on coming. And so, it should not be a surprise that Big Parma’s first goal might be to MAKE MONEY which can only come from repeat customers.
Degree of Control by Big Pharma in FDA Opioid and Natural Supplements Approvals
The chairman of the FDA advisory committee said that the agency bows to the Big Pharma influencer companies that want new powerful opioids brought to market, ignoring the dangers associated with them. These opioids treat the symptoms of disease, not the root causes of it.
Many believe that since Big Pharma spends big bucks on study and research, it inadvertently controls what health supplements (natural and organic as well) do or do not hit the market.
Many herbal supplements that could have the potential to treat the root of the cause in a holistic sense rather than functioning in silos may suffer at the hands of the Big Pharma if this conspiracy theory is indeed true. It could also make herbal supplements sources such as IHF LLC hemp flower suffer because organic/natural offerings are put on the backburner.
Key Takeaway
Evidence suggests that big pharma do have questions to answer. However, conclusive evidence of cure suppression and some other allegations is thin on the ground. Speculation and theories are all we have in some cases, but these are strong, powerful, and logical arguments that should be a part of the ongoing dialogue and health discussions.
About the author
Jackson is an editorial assistant at industrialhempfarms.com, a premium supplier of CBD Hemp extracts that are sold for various health, fitness and many more lifestyle purposes. Being working as an editor, Jackson is also responsible for studying hemp effects on various health issues. Connect with industrialhempfarms.com through Facebook.
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