Selling Happiness in a Microwave Society

I came across this article yesterday and for those of you who know how I feel about Big Pharma ... you can just imagine my reaction.

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The very first paragraph in the article says it all. "A weight-loss pill called lorcaserin not only helps people drop pounds but does so with few side effects, new industry-funded research reports." Did you notice the part that said "industry-funded research"? I did and once I saw it, flames shot out of my ears and I screamed like a wild banshee. It was not a pretty sight. "Industry-funded research" basically means that they drug companies who are making these wonderful new magic diet pills are the ones who are saying that they are perfectly safe with few side effects.

From all of my research into Big Pharma, I have discovered that a drug company can run as many drug trials as they want (typically only 6-12 weeks long) and then hand pick which two trials have the best results and send those to the FDA for approval. Then they pay the FDA to look over the information and make their decision. THE FDA DOES NOT DO INDEPENDENT DRUG TRIALS. The vast majority of the general public does not know this. In my opinion, "FDA approved" doesn't mean a damn thing.

When will our "microwave society" learn that faster isn't always the better. Sure people will take these new magic diet pills. Many of them will have horrific side effects. Some will lose weight for a while only to gain it back after they stopped taking the pills because they didn't bother to change their thoughts, attitudes, and actions about diet and exercise. The "instant fix"doesn't work and I will always prefer the slow oven cooked turkey to the one that our society is trying to nuke in that microwave.

How can we ever be content if we rely on companies to sell us happiness? When will it ever end? When will we stop looking for the quick fix and start looking for the real fix?