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Politics : Dutch Central Bank Sale Announcement Imminent? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: philv who wrote (19537)	11/7/2003 2:03:53 PM
From: sea_urchin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82174

Phil > Canadian drugs is off topic You make me smile. As if there was a topic here. To my understanding, the "topic" is anything and everything. Let's face it, everything is about money and, as we have been told, the only real money is gold and that's why the Dutch CB is selling it. > There is a huge controversy boiling right now about many Americans purchasing their drugs from Canada. Many retired folks cross the line and come to Canada to make big purchases Yes, I'm aware of that but the problem is more about price and availability. All generics are in fact made in the US, the difficulty is to get them and at a reasonable price. The doctors won't prescribe them and the pharmacies won't sell them and, if they do, they make a fat mark-up. After all, when one can sell something for 5-10 times more than something else, and the customer has to have it, why sell the cheap product or a product cheaply? However, I also believe that if the patient knew the generic name of the drug he wanted or its equivalent he would be able to get the drug more cheaply. Unfortunately, he would have to ask his doctor to write the generic name on the prescription but the doctor is likely to refuse because if he (the doctor) keeps promoting "the latest and most expensive cure", the drug company that makes it will reward him handsomely, often with a trip to the Caribbean for the whole family. This list shows the most common drugs the Americans buy, in order of popularity, and, as you see, the generic name is always given. In fact, I can tell you for many of them the patent has expired years ago, if ever there was one. These are all the drugs which cite the manufacturer as "Various". On the other hand, some of these drugs I have never heard of so they must be brand new. And that is definitely a tribute to excellent marketing because for a company to get its product on to the Top 200 list while the patent is still running must be worth billions and billions to the company. I believe the patent on drugs lasts 12 years unlike other inventions which last for 21 years. rxlist.com PS. I note Viagra is on the list. I suppose most of that goes to the impotent wankers in the government.