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It's really ironic if you stop and think about it. What, you ask? For years, the tobacco companies lobbied politicians to live and let live. Since 1964, consumers of this ages-old product knew the associated health risks and knowingly chose to take their chances. Enter the Clinton Administration in 1993. Suddenly, the tobacco industry lost its foothold as it was viciously attacked by special-interest groups, who in turn were and still are funded by the big pharmaceutical companies; Big Pharma, if you will. The first order of business was to convince smokers that they were not only harming themselves, but also those around them. The second? Accuse the cigarette makers of "spiking" their products with nicotine to keep customers addicted. Big Pharma is now filling the pockets of politicians and so-called "researchers" alike; provided they go along with these clever yet ruthless fabrications. The drug companies realized the potential for huge profits from the sale of smoking-cessation medications. At the same time, the mindset of millions of people changed virtually overnight toward those who smoke. So there you have it. Big Pharma is now the leading lobbyist in our nation, and as a result, we are flooded with commercials on television as well as print advertisements plugging miracle cures for everything from high cholesterol to erectile dysfunction. Incorrectly prescribed medications kill about 100,000 people a year, so our friends at Big Pharma cover their backsides with disclaimers: People who are nursing or pregnant should not take Product A. Check with your doctor if you have liver problems before taking product B. Do not operate machinery or drive a motor vehicle after taking Product C. If you suffer from high blood pressure, you should not take Product D. The warnings go on and on. The fact of the matter is that this is fueled by greed. Nobody knows the long-term effects of all these newfangled drugs, but this doesn't matter. The creators who mix these potions together will enjoy short-term profits and live off the interest for the rest of their lives. All of these new products on the market bring to mind the traveling medicine men of the 19th and early 20th centuries who promoted their wares under big tents. Just as now, the gullible public drank their magical potions (which incidentally more often than not consisted mostly of alcohol) and convinced themselves that whatever ailments besieged them ceased to exist. As far as the pharmaceutical companies setting out to hook their potential customers, I don't believe that the motive is to spawn a physical addiction, such as that of a heroin junkie, but rather to create a psychological dependence on their products. If a middle-aged man succeeds in improving sexual performance after taking a couple of Viagra tablets, this could and probably will ultimately lead to the individual adopting a belief that he will need it every time he's in a frisky mood. The person who suffers from high cholesterol will be told that in order to maintain lower levels of these plaque-rendering deposits, he will be required to take the medication in question for the remainder of his life. The depressed person who takes the new medication will cease to experience happiness unless he or she continues to use it on a daily basis. The recurring objective here can be summed up in one word: Profit. And they said the tobacco companies were callous? Let's point some fingers, shall we?

Learn more about this author, Patrick Sills.
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