That is the title of a very interesting article I just read on Mercola.com.  It is written by Dr. Christopher Kent, a chiropractor who is a national speaker and researcher.  He makes some very good points and backs it up with plenty of references.  The following paragraphs are a few excerpts from the article;

Recreational drugs, including cocaine and heroin, are responsible for estimated 10,000-20,000 deaths in America per year [1,2].

 The desire to solve problems by taking drugs is a product of our culture.  When a child is taught by loving parents that the appropriate response to pain or discomfort is taking a pill, it is obvious that such a child, when faced with the challenges of adolescence, will seek comfort by taking drugs.  (Dr. DeRusha’s comment: I have read of cases of this happening to kids who were on Ritalin that have become addicted to cocaine as adults.) 

While approximately 10,000 per year die from the effects of illegal drugs, an article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that an estimated 106,000 hospitalized patients die each year from drugs which, by medical standards, are properly prescribed and properly administered.  More than two million suffer serious side effects. [3]

An article in Newsweek [4] put this into perspective.  Adverse drug reactions, from “properly” prescribed drugs, are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S.  According to this article, only heart disease, cancer and stroke kill more Americans than drugs prescribed by Medical Doctors.

According to another AMA publication, drug related “problems” kill as many as 198,815 people, put 8.8 million in hospitals, and account for 28% of hospital admissions. [5] If these figures are accurate, only cancer and heart disease kill more patients than drugs.  Null [6] et al have published the most comprehensive and well-documented study I (Dr.Kent) have seen of deaths associated with medical practice.  The findings are summarized in the abstract:

“A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-reviewed journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good.  The number of people having in-hospital, adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million.  Dr. Richard Besser, of the CDC, in 1995, said the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million.  Dr. Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics.

The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million.  The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million.  The total number if iatrogenic deaths shown in the following table is 783,936.  It is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States.  The 2001 heart disease annual death rate is 699,697; the annual cancer death rate, 553,251.”

The authors conclude:  “When the number one killer in a society is the healthcare system, then, that system has no excuse except to address its own shortcomings.  It’s a failed system in need of immediate attention.  What we have outlined in this paper are insupportable aspects of our contemporary medical system that need to be changed—beginning at its very foundations.”

Dr. Kent ends the article with: “The folly of such double standards should be obvious to all.  It is time to address the real drug problem—the cultural notion that the first solution to seek for relief of life’s problems is a drug.  That’s the drug culture we need to address.”

I couldn’t agree with you more Dr. Kent.  One of the reasons chiropractic works so well is that we are seeking to find the cause of your problem and not just a “patch” like a pill or medication to hide the symptom.  Your nervous system controls every cell, organ and tissue of your body.  Your spinal bones house and protect your spinal cord and nerves.  If your spine is out of alignment, called a subluxation, it has a negative effect on your nervous system and this is the cause of many health problems.  Chiropractors look to the spine first to make sure the nervous system is functioning normally.  If it is not then we adjust the spine to help get it functioning normally again.  There is no pill, potion or lotion that can accomplish this.  The only side effect you may experience with chiropractic care is that you probably will feel better, if you give it a chance to work.

 “Get knowledge of the spine, for this is the requisite for many diseases.”          -Hippocrates, 460-377 B.C.   

To read the entire article visit Mercola.com.

       References

1. “Drug deaths.” Globe & Mail (Canada).  Feb 27,1998.
2. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.  CDC. 2007;56(05):93-96.
3. Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN:”Incidence of adverse drug reactions in hospitalized patients.”  JAMA 1998;279:1200.
4. Kalb C: “When drugs do harm.” Newsweek. April 27, 1998.  Page 61.
5. “Reaction” American Medical News.  January 15, 1996. Page11.
6. 1. Null G, Dean C, Feldman, M, Rasio, D, Smith D: “Death by Medicine.” Life Extension. March, 2004.

www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/mar2004_awsi_death_01.htm