Shipping trouble abroad
When it comes to making money, no one is more relentless in pursuing the almighty dollar than Merck. You recall the debacle over Vioxx? The osteoarthritis pain reliever had to be pulled from the market—even though it was FDA approved—because it was killing too many people. Even Merck had to finally recognize that was bad for business.
But that won’t stop the drug giant from trying again. Just recently, they were trying to get FDA approval for another osteoarthritis pain reliever, called Arcoxia. It too increased the risk of heart attack and stroke.
This time, the FDA denied its approval. It’s about time the FDA did its job!
So will Merck finally stop trying to push this painkiller? Heck no! Not when there’s money to be made.
Even though Arcoxia isn’t being sold in the U.S., that’s not stopping them from selling it elsewhere.
Merck is already selling Arcoxia in about 60 other countries, and is planning to continue to do so. That’s one helluva export that should go a long way in helping international relations—nothing like playing into that “Ugly American” image!
The drug companies aren’t going to stop peddling their pills if there is more money to be made. Fortunately, you don’t need to get sucked into their deadly business practices.
There are natural, safe alternative remedies that you don’t need to die for in exchange for relieving pain. To combat the inflammation associated with osteoarthritis, I recommend an excellent product from New Chapter called Zyflamend. It contains natural, herbal anti-inflammatories—such as turmeric, ginger, oregano, and green tea—that can help ease that pain. These time-tested herbs are blended together to support a healthy response to inflammation. You can find Zyflamend in vitamin shops or online. Just go to Google and type in “zyflamend.”
I also make sure my patients are on fish oil, which is an excellent, safe anti-inflammatory that also confers a variety of other health-supportive benefits—including protection against heart disease, cancer, and dementia. Most people with arthritis can’t lose if they give this all-star team a couple months’ trial.
