A story in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) debunks the claim made by American pharmaceutical companies that they charge more for their products because they spend more on research and development than firms in the rest of the world do.

In fact, thepiece shows, U.K. drug companies spend proportionately more on R&D than their U.S. counterparts, but British drug prices remain much lower than those in the United States.

The BMJarticle argues convincingly that in fact, American drugmakers invest three times more money on advertising, marketing, and administration than on research, and could cut costs in those areas if they truly wished to.

British Medical Journal October 22, 2005; 331(7522): 958-960

Dr. Mercola's Comment:You are spending three times as much for drugadvertising, marketing, and administration as for their research!

Think about that the next time you are faced with a high-cost prescription drug. Think about that branded calendar in your doctor's office, or the free sample he or she gives you. Think about all those annoying ads, selling typically useless drugs that feature "cute" characters, all designed to separate you from your hard-earned cash.

The costs of American prescription drugs isn't high because of research. It's high so that drug companies have plenty of extra cash on hand to buy off Congress and market their potentially toxic products to you.

Drug companies and their officials contributed at least $17 million to federal candidates in the 2004 elections, including:Nearly $1 million to President BushMore than $500,000 to his opponent, John KerryAt least 18 members of Congress received more than $100,000 apiece

Over the past seven years, drug companies have spent more than $750 million on lobbying alone-- more then any other single industry! There are more drug company lobbyists in Washington than their are members of Congress.

Meanwhile, the drug companies are spending $4 billion every year to market their products to you ... and another $16 billion spent trying to influence your doctor to prescribe their drugs to you.

It is information like this that fuels my vision to spearhead a movement to replace the existing, broken health care paradigm, focused on drug-based solutions for curing conditions, and replace it with one that emphasizes prevention and treats the true causes of disease.