Okay, the people we’re about to discuss may not actually use generic drugs.  That’s between them, their doctors and their pharmacists.  We have no way of knowing whether any of these famous people are managing their high blood pressure with a little help from name brand Lasix or a generic dose of furosemide. 

However, we thought it would be fun to use a few big-name celebrities to illustrate why buying generic drugs makes so much sense—and a few of the challenges that have slowed public acceptance of generics. 

  Pamela Anderson (ribavirin).  Generic drugs might do the same thing as the name brand products from “Big Pharma”, but people just don’t know about them.  That’s because the giant corporations pushing the brand names can spend their way into the public consciousness with massive advertising campaigns.  The generics are a better deal, but the name brands get the attention.   

  Pam Anderson cracked the top five on Forbes’  list of the most over-exposed celebrities.  She can’t see anyone or do anything without creating a new sex tape controversy.  She doesn’t seem to have or to want a private life—even her Hepatitis diagnosis is public knowledge.  It’s hard to name any Anderson project since Baywatch (well, and the sex tapes) that captured the attention of more than a dozen viewers, but she’s still a daily target for the paparazzi. 

  If you’re talking about exposure and the power of media attention, the conversation has to include Pam Anderson.  Maybe it’s time for her to put down the Copegus and to switch her script to ribavirin, though.  As Ms. Anderson frequently proves, attention is not an indicator of quality.  That holds just as true for prescription medications as it does for actors. 

  Axl Rose (lithium).  Generic drugs contain the same ingredients as their name brand counterparts.  Unfortunately, many people still cling to the mistaken belief that a recognizable product name is an indicator of superior quality.   They’re not getting better meds, however.  They’re just spending more. 

  Rose recently released a new album.  The ostensible “rock ‘n’ roll masterpiece” was well overdue.  Rose spent over fifteen years tweaking and adjusting “Chinese Democracy” prior to its release.  That’s a surefire indicator that someone is worried about quality.    

  Axl Rose, the notorious control-freak rocker and admitted manic-depressive is our poster boy for lithium.  Lithium is cheaper than the name brand alternatives like Lithobid and packs the exact same punch.  It’s time for Rose to take a deep breath and realize that there is no discernible quality difference between generics and their name brand counterparts. 

  Katie Holmes (setraline).  Prescription buyers often make the mistake of assuming that price is indicative of quality.  If the name brand costs more, they reason, it must work better.  Obviously, that isn’t the case. Both generics and name brand meds contain the same ingredients and go through the same approval processes.  The price difference is related to covering pharmaceutical marketing costs (see Pam Anderson, above) and the research and development expenses associated with product introduction.  The price and quality simply aren’t related. 

  Katie Holmes seems to have an issue with the sticker price/quality equivocation thing.  According to multiple accounts, Mrs. Tom Cruise found a way to drop over fourteen million dollars on miscellany over a six-month period.  You can’t spend that big on knick-knacks and clothes for the kids unless you reflexively reach for the high-end stuff. 

  Katie might want to consider trying generic setraline instead of Zoloft.  Maybe she’d learn that price tags aren’t quality ratings.  Of course, as a Scientologist, Holmes wouldn’t actually dare to touch a prescription psychiatric drug—no matter how depressing it is to live with Tom. 

  Although U2’s Bono (a celebrity who didn’t make our list) might decry for-profit medicine as “ghoulish”, there is a place in the world for name brand prescription drugs.  Once the clock runs on originators, allowing competitors to enter the marketplace it makes much more sense from any reasonable consumer standard to buy the generics, though. 

There’s no quality distinction between the two and the price of generics substantially undercuts those of name brand medications.  Even the most vapid Hollywood star should be able to grasp that. 


Article Via Cheap Generic Pharmacy