Big Pharma Vs Alternative Medicine

People who have had positive results using alternative healing therapies are often surprised by the fierce resistance that they read in the media against alternative medicine. The root of this resistance is most often backed by big pharmaceutical companies. It is not uncommon to find fictitious articles written to disprove alternative healing approaches as unscientific. These campaigns are often targeted at homeopathy. What are their motives for attacking natural therapies?

The reason is simple. People are discovering that the most effective treatment for the many ailments that they succumb to are actually are those that help the body trigger its own wonderful ability to heal itself. It is in the interest of pharmaceutical companies to position the drugs they produce as the only effective way to treat the “vulnerable” body. They need to perpetuate the myth that the body is defenceless against the myriad of microbes, viruses and bacteria that would otherwise overcome man if it was not for their drugs,

Any mass conversion of people to more natural treatments would threaten their sales and put their share price at risk. Can you imagine the scenario where people start to take more responsibility for their health? Where they start eating the right foods, exercising more and trusting their own body’s wonderful healing powers. People would no longer feel need to consult a doctor for every small ailments. This would mean less unnecessary prescriptions written and hence less drug sales. A whole industry of doctors, chemists and drugs companies have a vested interest in perpetuating the myth of the weak and vulnerable body. It is therefore in their interest to invest in a huge PR campaign to discredit all forms of natural therapy.

Consumer rights groups supporting the natural therapies industries are however fighting back. Hundreds of thousands of grassroots supporters of natural health contacted their senators and let their voices be heard. As a result Senate bill S.1082 will in no way restrict access to nutritional supplements. They are on record that they will contest every bill or amendment that favours corporate interests over consumer interests. The more lawmakers realise that members of the health freedom movement will not remain silent will make them think twice before introducing future bills that try to regulate dietary supplements

The encouraging thing is that there is a growing trend towards natural medicine. Although big Pharma in the US may have won a legislative battle, they are losing the war. This can be borne out by:

• Public opinion towards drug companies is at an all-time low.

• More consumers are turning to natural treatments for diseases and health conditions. The popularity of homeopathy, acupuncture and herbal medicine is at an all-time high and continues to rise!

• People are finally starting to realise that they are being ripped off by a profit-minded industry charging them the highest prices in the world for medications that are neither safe nor effective.

• The dire current economic climate is highlighting the fact that cities, states and countries may start to declare bankruptcy due to outrageous health care costs – costs created by drug-based medicine.

• A strong trend strongly in favour of natural, sustainable living!

It is therefore not surprising that the Pharma industry is worried about these trends and the impact it will have on their medical monopoly. This is the reason for their enormous lobby budget to influence senators, regulators and the media to run its propaganda campaign. The truth is that to an increasing number of people, the conventional medicine is becoming virtually irrelevant. Very many people are simply not visiting doctors any longer or buying pharmaceutical drugs.

If it weren’t for health insurance not covering naturopathic therapies in the US many more people would now choose natural therapies instead of drugs and surgery. If health insurance covered homeopathy, naturopathy, herbal medicine and acupuncture it is likely that there would be a massive move away from doctors, drug companies and toxic cancer treatments. By limiting consumers’ choices, feeding them propaganda and limiting access to natural therapies that actually work they are able to survive and thrive.

In the opinion of millions of consumers, organized traditional chemical based medicine is already obsolete. The Regulators remain stuck in the past bound to the an industry that was outdated two decades ago. Consumers understand that the future of medicine is about preventing disease and nourishing the body to support the body’s natural healing process. The brutality of chemically attacking it with synthetic drugs is just no longer acceptable.

We are in the midst of a tremendous change in thinking made possible by empowered consumers who have all the information they need at the tip of the fingers. The internet has enlightened consumers to the truth about Big Pharma and the regulatory regime that underpins it..

At some time in the future historians will describe our present times as the dark age of medicine. The future of medicine is an empowering one with consumers having the full choice to use whatever remedies best suites them.