LifeHiscost Posted July 23, 2010 Posted July 23, 2010 others can be seduced in doing that which they wouldn't do unless deceived by information withheld. Source: hsiresearch@healthiernews.com Quote: Dear Reader, "Drug Industry Spends Billions On Free Samples Of Popular Meds" That Dow Jones headline probably made a few people choke up as they imagined the selfless generosity of drug companies. Why, they actually GIVE their product away! That is so generous! In 2005, the industry spent $18 billion on free samples. Free! And in 2007, five companies (Pfizer, Merck, Lilly, Baxter, and Abbott) collectively spent about $3 billion on 240 million samples. Again: free of charge. Go on! Take 'em! Enjoy! So how can these guys make any money when they give so much of their product away? Easy. They cook the books. But it's like going to Benihana –-they cook them right in front of you. ----------------------------------------------------------- Circle game ----------------------------------------------------------- If you've ever received a free drug sample from your doctor, you know that it isn't just handed over in a generic, amber-colored plastic bottle. The pills are usually contained in a fold-out blister pack that has a colorful design and printed information. It's like a gift. You break the seal, unfold the package, and there's your free prize! That's the beginning of a circular con game. And you're the mark, of course. After you finish the paltry dozen or so pills in your "free" sample, then you begin paying what's often an exorbitant price for the drug (or your insurance company does). Why is the price so high? Drug companies tell us it's because their operating budgets are so large. And one reason they're large is because...companies give away millions of samples. But let's call a "free sample" what it really is: nothing more than a very aggressive advertisement. After you've seen all the print ads and TV ads, the seller makes one final pitch while actually putting the product in your hand. If they could go one more step and put the pills directly into your mouth, I'm sure they would! And that's how this free sample con works--right out in the open where everyone can clearly see each step. What isn't so obvious is how much each sample is really worth. And I'm not talking about a pill that a pharmacist could sell, but rather the active ingredient inside the pill. A few years ago, Life Extension Magazine published a list that compared the consumer price of various drugs to the actual cost of manufacturing the active ingredient. Here are three examples from that list: * Prozac (made by Lilly)--consumer cost: $247.47 per 100 pills / active ingredient cost: 11 cents per 100 pills * Xanax (made by Pfizer)--consumer cost: $136.79 / active ingredient cost: 24 cents * Prilosec (made by Procter & Gamble)--consumer cost: $360.97 / active ingredient cost: 52 cents There's only one word for those markups: obscene. But when drug companies report the value of their free samples to Congress, they give the wholesale or market price, not the actual manufacturing cost of the stuff that makes the drug work. So you can just imagine what cost they're quoting to the IRS when it comes time to write it all off as a business expense. One thing is for sure: The actual drug in a "free" sample won't cost the drug company much. But it IS going to cost you. Quote Lift Jesus up!!
GreatLakesGramma Posted July 24, 2010 Posted July 24, 2010 When you buy name-brand drugs, you aren't paying for the ingredients, you're paying for the millions of dollars of research that went into developing them. Quote Catherine God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26. "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." -- C. S. Lewis
bonnie Posted July 24, 2010 Posted July 24, 2010 Source: hsiresearch@healthiernews.com Dear Reader, "Drug Industry Spends Billions On Free Samples Of Popular Meds" That Dow Jones headline probably made a few people choke up as they imagined the selfless generosity of drug companies. Why, they actually GIVE their product away! That is so generous! Quote Everything you do is based on the choices you make. It's not your parents, your past relationships, your job, the economy, the weather, an argument, or your age that is to blame. You and only you are responsible for every decision and choice you make, period ... ... Wish more people would realize this. Quotes by Susan Gottesman
Dottie Posted July 25, 2010 Posted July 25, 2010 My heart doctor may give me samples, but they are for me to use immediately, as the expiration date is near. They cannot be returned to the pharmaceutical company, and he feels it would be better to give them out than to throw them away. I forgot to mention that they are drugs which I already use, not new ones. Dottie Quote
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