Pain Pill...

 Chicago filed a lawsuit against five major producers of  pharmaceuticals accusing the group of concealing the risks associated with certain painkillers.        

The drug maker "should never place its desire for profits above the health and well-being of its customers,".

The city said that the companies knew for years that certain pain-alleviating drugs were addictive and could prove debilitating in the long-term.

       

The drug makers "spent millions of dollars funding, assisting and encouraging doctors and front groups" to promote the drugs and broaden their reach among users afflicted with chronic pain,

Chicago says.  The United States is now awash in opioids," the suit said, citing data showing that more than 250 million prescriptions for the narcotic were filled in 2010.      

The suit contends that the drugs have ramped up addiction.

Pain Medicine helps those with disability, Cancer, Surgery, etc and yet is a subject of abuse. However,  it is a matter of law enforcement actions at the end user and or the provider. No easy result.      Just a [painful] thought. 

Dense...*!

Japanese people enjoy one of the longest average life spans in the world — 86 years for women and 79 for men (80 & 75 respective for Americans)  with far lower rates of obesity and chronic diseases like osteoporosis, heart disease and some types of cancer.

The diet incorporates lower-calorie foods served in controlled portions. They eat around 25 per cent fewer calories than the average western person.

The secret is to replace energy-dense foods, like chocolate, potato chips, and cookies, with less energy-dense, like fruits, vegetables, etc. In a study from Penn. State U., researchers served women meals that were 25% smaller than average and contained 30% fewer calories according to the principles of energy density. They ended up eating an average of 800 calories less per day, without missing the extra food.

The Japanese achieve a lot of physical activity by simple actions such as walking, climbing stairs and using a bicycle to run errands. Try the new method, it may work for you.  Just a thought.

Out-side the Box...

It is very encouraging to see my nephew, as a little boy, grow up to be a productive member of the society.

Maged finished dental school and became a dentist. He also started teaching English in the American University in Cairo. Moved to England and obtained a Master's Degree, with distinction, in Intercultural Communication, from the University of Bedfordshire, UK. 

He started his own Blog in Arabic with various great views of life.   He became a fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK.
Now what is next?
A song that may just explain his career direction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bg1sT4ILG0w

Just a thought.

Young...*!

The song was inspired by an event at the dawn of the psychedelic and counterculture eras in November 1966, of the passage of strict (10:00 p.m.) curfew to reduce  congestion from crowds of young club patrons.

This was perceived by young and music fans as an infringement on their civil rights,  Fliers were distributed inviting people to demonstrate.

Hours before the protest one of L.A.'s rock 'n' roll radio stations announced there would be a rally at Pandora's Box club. The Times reported that as many as 1,000 youthful including Jack Nicholson and Peter Fonda, erupted in protest against the curfew.

Though often mistaken for an anti-war song, it was this first of the "Sunset Strip riots" by Buffalo Springfield  "For What It’s Worth", recorded on December 5, 1966.

Buffalo Springfield - For What Its Worth-Lyrics-HQ 

Worth...

Reports suggest that Ballmer won the bizarre bidding war for the Clippers at a $2 billion. Sterling paid $12.5 million for the Clippers in 1981.

The U.S. stock market is trading at all-time highs, the U.S. bonds' yields are at eye-popping low and the nation’s professional basketball teams are selling for more than most observers previously thought possible. That the U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of the year is the disturbing backdrop for this stunning surge in asset prices—call it the basketball bubble.

What makes the price as high, twice the funny, inflated price mentioned in Saturday Night Live? no logical reason out there.

We must consider the start of the {Dance}of accusation, till the big celebration of cashing in.

Just a thought

Work till ....

Atlético maintained their intensity, pressing and aggression for most of the game.

At one point, the trophy was adorned in red and white ribbons and Atlético were on the verge of completing one of the great soccer stories.  It was going to take something special for Real to work their way back. The clock was showing 93 minutes when Sergio Ramos’s header took the game into extra time.

Real Madrid played till the last minutes and was able, finally to change the score. 
Soccer can be a brutal business, but the game is on till the end. More to come from Brazil.

Just a thought.

Psycho...?

I am here ......  to take responsibility for what I have done. I would like you to know that I always told Jen she could leave, but don’t threaten me with my daughter. That night, Jen had a knife in her hand and threatened me with my daughter. So I killed her.

I don’t think it’s right when women use their kids against their fathers.

I am the bad apple, and if you ask my family, they’d rather have me dead than her. Jen helped me clean up my act, but the one thing I never stopped doing was my love for drugs, and for that I am sorry. Jen was an angel and always will be an angel.

Jared Remy pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. [Picture is not related to the issue]

Price of Medication-Part 2

High Cost of healthcare gives me headache

The FDA approved over-the-counter Nexium^® 24HR (20mg) providing those who suffer from frequent heartburn broader access.

“Switching medicines, whenever appropriate, from prescription to non-prescription status improves access, empowers consumers to care for their own health and is an important strategy for Pfizer,”

Nexium generated sales of approximately $3.9 billion in 2013, {> 15% of AstraZeneca’s total revenues}. However, the company expects Nexium sales to decline in 2014 due to generic competition, at the end of May. AstraZeneca is entangled in patent litigation related to Nexium with several generic companies.

Analysis:
1- This step is taken as the Patent expires. Not a moment before.
2-Nexium revenue was $3.5 Billions in 2013, but that is not the cost for healthcare in USA. To get this medication, their is $30 Billion cost of obtaining the prescription, doctor visit &copay, Healthcare Insurance premium, obtaining the medicine-copay.
3-Now the cost to healthcare will dwindle to $400 millions at the most.
4-This is repeated with many items as the patent expires, then the pharmaceutical companies file for Over the Counter status. Why couldn't be in the OTC from the start?? It is all about the money.

We need to reduce the Healthcare cost and better service as well. It is up to the Legislator or better the Healthcare Insurances to tame the Beast.

Just a [high cost] thought

Some gave all.

Shoes...

It was reported that Vincent bought these workman’s boots at a flea market, intending to use them in a still life. Finding them still a little too smart, however, he wore them on a long and rainy walk. Only then were they fit to be painted.

To him, as to several of his contemporaries, they may have been symbolic of the hard yet picturesque life of the laborer and reference to Van Gogh’s difficult passage through life.

In the desert, the shoes cost a lot, wear off badly and quickly. Showing the sole of your shoe to someone in the Arab world is a sign of extreme disrespect. Throwing your shoe is even worse." 

In Egypt, a Syrian throwing his shoe at Ahmadinejad, after an affectionate welcome from Egypt's new Islamist president. Earlier, an Iraqi journalist throwing his shoes at George Bush.

What a painting. Just an {expressionist's} thought.