Think About It

Hi All!

This week's "Think About It" is on a topic that I am somewhat passionate about.

"How do you feel about the news that your drinking water, streams, and rivers may be contaminated with prescription drugs? Who shares in the responsibility for controlling the amounts of pharmaceutical waste being introduced to the environment? Does a marketer have any responsibility for a product once it has been sold?"

I have always been passionate about health. Recently, I have begun to research the connection between prescription drugs and health. I find that I am a minimalist when it comes to prescription drugs as a way to promote health. To hear that prescription drugs, that are typically pharmaceutical company pushed, are evading our ecosystems and potentially affecting people who are not on prescription drugs, really ticks me off.

In as much of a non-political view as possible, I really disagree with the pharmaceutical world because of how passionate I am about natural health. I don't know who should be responsible for controlling the amounts of pharmaceutical waste being introduced to the environment, because I am not sure of how to really prevent it from happening. Should we blame the government for the treating waste properly? Should we blame the companies for creating such drugs? Should we blame the doctors for prescribing them? Or should we blame the population for depending on them?

As for if a marketer should have any responsibility for a product once it has been sold? I think that it could be hypocritical to say that they shouldn't. I would argue that marketers accept the glory of successful products, but won't carry the burden for products that harm people. I believe that the "success" of the large prescription drug industry is very dependent on how heavily marketers/pharmaceutical companies push the importance of their products to human health. But isn't it our responsibility as a society to educate ourselves in the reality of it all? I would say that it is a marketers job to inform the public, but instead they are doing an injustice to the public in pursuit of a dollar.

What do you think? Do you have as strong of feelings about this as I do?