Kevin, MD points to an AP story about over-the-counter cholesterol lowering drugs, and rightly argues that it’s all about money. “Savings for insurance companies, continuing profit for the drug companies.” I couldn’t agree more. Our pharm professor said there was an article in the British Medical Journal awhile back saying we should put statins in our water supply. How it would be great for the public.

So where’s the outrage? I can’t seem to find it. Physicians seem hell bent on medicating the public to death. (Maybe for good reason. Maybe they’re tired of prescribing exercise and a healthy diet and seeing 10% of patients trying?) Still, I can’t help but be bothered that we’re willing to prescribe pills for every man, woman, and child in this country at the cost of side effects and enormous increases in health care costs. We pay fast food companies to get us into this mess, and then we pay pharmaceutical companies to get us out of it. God forbid we pass some sort of law that encourages healthy eating. It works for smoking . Bad food is just as bad.

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