British Health Experts Investigating Excess Prescription Deaths

Some of Britain’s top health experts are concerned that the overprescription of drugs is becoming an epidemic. And they now believe this epidemic is causing excess deaths. They’ve now suggested that a Chilcot style inquiry over these tens of thousands of annual deaths be done.

The health experts gave a speech at the European Parliament in Brussels. They claim that millions of people are being prescribed medications for no good reason at all. Some of the focus drugs were statins, blood pressure medications, and type-2 diabetes drugs. They assert that these drugs do more harm than good, essentially pointing out that harm done via side-effects outweighs any benefits. And this, they say, is leading to a massive spike in deaths that could ultimately be avoided if there were more responsible prescribing.

A Cambridge University study found that at least half of people over the age of 65 take a minimum of five drugs a day (source). That’s up 12 percent from two decades ago.

When it comes to what’s killing people, heart disease and cancer are still topping the charts. However, overprescription of drugs has now moved into the 3 slot. In the UK, it is estimated that overprescribing of drugs is killing 125k to 150k people annually. That’s an insanely high number of people. While big pharma has been fined in the billions for all types of nefarious activity, they’ve hardly been called out as a supreme cause of what they claim to cure. Pharmaceutical companies easily pay fines and consistently operate under the guise that their misdeeds are by far overshadowed by all their good deeds. The thing is, 150,000 deaths a year in a country as small as the UK is now throwing salt in that play.

The same experts have also pointed out that inaccurate dietary guidelines may also be a contributor in the obesity crisis.

Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a member of the Academy of Royal Colleges obesity and a cardiologist, told INews that there being an honest doctor doesn’t mesh with the new world of pharmaceutical prescribing. He called the current state of affairs an “epidemic of misinformation.”

“After almost 17 years as a doctor, I have slowly and reluctantly come to the conclusion that honest doctors can no longer practice honest medicine.

“Poor quality research, influenced by vested interests has resulted in an epidemic of misinformed doctors and misinformed patients leading to poor clinical outcomes and the unwitting practice of unethical medicine due to the lack of transparency in the prescription of medications, which are now estimated to be the third most common cause of death after heart disease and cancer.”

Dr. Malhotra believes that refined carbohydrates, or processed foods, are truly to blame for obesity and a number of chronic illnesses.

“This is at the root cause of the obesity and type 2 diabetes epidemic. Thankfully, there are plenty of people who ignore government dietary advice and, in many cases, manage to reverse their type 2 diabetes and come off their medications.”

There is no doubt that the pressure is mounting on Big Pharma and Big Food alike. And that pressure is mounting from a global perspective. People are beginning to see through the charades that often happen while visiting a doctor.