I want this, this... oh! and this drug please! :D

The society today is clearly much more different than the society that was present decades ago. Medicine was not something that could be accessible so easily to consumers but rather, doctors had to prescribe each drug to a patient. Nowadays people can buy medications and consume them at their own expense.

                Evidently, the spike in the number of pharmacies and the availability of over-the-counter drugs show our heavy reliance on these drugs and how health is very important to us. We are a health based society. If someone sneezes next to you, we become paranoid and automatically ask them if they are sick. People take Advil and Tylenol for the slightest headaches and consume cough drops as if they are candy. Pharmacies sell vitamins to consumers that want to make their body healthier with the extra supplements.

                Of course, the accessibility to these drugs represents the advancement of technology and science in our world and it greatly benefits the health of the people. But does that mean that some people will take advantage of this privilege and abuse the drugs? Yes, most definitely.

The evolution of medicine is a continuous process as demonstrated by the archaeological evidence of ancient ways to heal people compared to the current medicinal technology which is forever improving. Remedies from plant extracts instead of pills were consumed by the sick and “spirit healers” were a form of physicians that healed the ill and diseased. Nowadays, people have access to state-of-the-art medical technologies and pharmacies that encompass hundreds and hundreds of different drugs, which were evidently non-existence decades before. Especially in the type of society we live in, Medicine plays a large part in the operation of a country because a country needs healthy people in order to continue to function in the best way possible. The human race’s desire to stay healthy ensue the need for a wider distribution of medications and this could only be possible because of the prompt development of medical equipment. The unimaginable advancement of medication and the ease of access to it, without a doubt, changed and shaped the society for the good but also, for the worst to the extent of abuse.

            The more efficient production of medications resulted in a distribution of pharmaceuticals to a wider demographic range rather than only the wealthy can afford to buy them. The lack of pharmaceutical products in the United States can be demonstrated by the disease infected towns and high infant mortality rates during the mid 1800s. Five Points, New York during the 1800s is an excellent example of this because it was the ideal town for the spread of diseases due to poor sanitary conditions. The poor were normally not as healthy the wealthy citizens of the society due to the lack of health care which is taken in account to in today’s time. Medicaid, an entitlement program that covers low income families, and Medicare, also an entitlement program that aids senior citizens 65 years and older, contribute to the goal of distribution more medications to a wider population of people and not just a specific group. These entitlement programs basically describe the United States since it is such a prominent issue in society and presidential elections can also be determined based on a candidate’s outlook on these healthcare programs. The citizens of the United States are fortunate enough to have these entitlement programs whereas in other countries, these programs aren’t accessible for them. If they were to get sick, they would either have to see the doctor which would cost lot money or endure the sickness.

Medicine is important to us because we need medicine to maintain or restore our health in order to prevent diseases, injuries and other damages to our body or mind. In addition, medicine can cure illnesses, improve immunity, and provide nutrients and vitamins that the body can’t produce. In addition, the risks of being exposed to diseases are lessened and even patients that are affected by diseases have a higher chance of survival because of the disease prevention medications. Due to these medications people on an average live longer and have a better quality of life, and this increases the value of living. If people live longer than they have the chance to enjoy the wonders of the world and have more time to do whatever makes them happy and spend more time with the family. According to an article, “Mortality has fallen substantially in the past hundred years. In 1900, more than 2,500 per 100,000 people died in a typical year (about 2.5 per 100). Today, mortality is two-thirds lower”, this shows the substantial beneficial effect of medicine on the society (Cutler). Medicine can now increase the life span of a human being and decrease the mortality rate. The life expectancy at birth also increased compared to previous decades. Families could stay with their loved ones for a longer period of time and new born babies have a greater chance of living.

Evidently, the strong reliance on the medications show the impact it has on society. The effects of the pharmaceutical phenomenon can be supported by the sheer number of pharmacies opened in one area. I remember, back in Long Island, that there are four pharmacies on a street where I live close to, and that’s just in my area; there must be close to a hundred pharmacies in LI alone. This shows the high demand of medicines and it’s a growing substantially despite the current global economic mess because people are bound to get sick and need medications. In a sense, Medicine shows the dependence of our community on medications to improve our health and a society that is overly concerned in health. Everyone has at least taken medications at least once in our lives and we rely so much on them to better our health. If someone has sinus problems or coughing fits, it’s a normal routine to go to the nearest pharmacy and buy a bottle of Nyquil or another OTC medication. It has been so incorporated into our lifestyles that if one day all the pharmacies closed, I believe that the daily routine of everybody’s day would be ruined. Medicine has become such a norm in society to the point where people buy cough drops just for the road even if they don’t have a coughing fit.  OTC drugs save people a trip to their doctor’s which is very convenient and benefits them financially as well. Back then, if people could, they would go to the doctor’s for minor illnesses because they need the doctor’s prescriptions to obtain the medications, but now, OTC drugs are accessible to everyone regardless of the presence of prescriptions. Buying an OTC drug for the most part is cheaper than the fee to see a doctor if one doesn’t have health insurance.

                        The ease of access to these medications especially now since there are so many pharmacies available, is a great asset to society but it can also be a bad thing. Medicine does contribute positively to the welfare of one’s health but on the contrary it can also harm one’s body. Particularly now since medicine is easily obtainable. People can buy over-the-counter drugs such as Tylenol and Advil which is highly popular without prescriptions from doctors. Since there are no limits in buying these non-prescribed medicines, people tend to abuse the pills. People sometimes take more than two pills of Advil in order to relieve the pain. This shows that people don’t follow the directions in taking these drugs nor know the consequences if they overdose on it. Side effects can include high blood pressure, loss of sleep or conscious, nausea etc. On the other hand, on the more extreme level, people can get addicted to these drugs. Not only OTC drugs but people that are prescribed drugs may also abuse it until they are in danger of dying and have to be in coma. Some people chose to abuse prescribed drugs because they seems to be safer than other drugs since it is prescribed by doctors, but on the contrary, they are just as dangerous if one overdoses on it. Without the supervision of doctors, drug addicts can buy as many OTC medications as they want and consume in large quantities. Drug addiction is a severe problem in societal times because people use it as an excuse to escape from their depression and real life problems. They believe that the drugs will give them more fun, allow them to fit in better, or even lose weight. Furthermore, teenagers use these medications as a hallucinogen to get high since they can be so easily obtained at their local convenience store ("TeensHealth®"). Like how I stated previously, medicine is so incorporated into our life that people are comfortable enough to abuse it regularly.

            Medicine is a cultural artifact that represents societal times because of the high use of it by everybody. The availability of the medicine contributes to the wider distribution of the medications to not only the rich who can afford it but to the general people, especially the families that fall below the average income line. Medicine represents the good in society but people abuse the accessibility of the drugs. Medicine helps decrease the mortality rate and greatly improve the lifestyle of people. On the other hand, if one chooses to abuse the advantage of being able to get medications anywhere, it defeats the beneficial purpose of the drugs. Pharmaceuticals and medicine in general are an important part of the society and contribute to the continuously changing culture of the world.

Another picture that I posted on the bottom is of people abusing drugs because it has, as horrible as it sounds, a norm in society. People in general sometimes overconsume one too many pills at once in order to achieve maximum effect but it could in turn harm you. Especially teenagers abuse the privilege to the accessibility to OTC drugs because it is so easily obtainable and they are unaware of the severe consequences of overconsumption. In the picture it shows a variety of the different pills and it shows how health dependent our society is because of the development of all these new medications.