Canadians spent a whopping $22-billion on prescription drugs in 2010, according to the latest report by industry analysts IMS-Brogan.
Interestingly, the report predicted that spending on medication will drop this year after three decades of steady increases, due in large part to the lifting of patents on big sellers like Liptor, Norvasc and Prevacid, the National Post reported.
But even if drug sales dropped by as much as six per cent in 2011, as the reported suggested, there’s still $20-billion-plus to be had, with a big chunk of that cashola going to the pharmaceutical industry, which sells happiness, according to Ron James.
“Happiness is a bull market baby,” the comedian says in this clip of standup from Friday night’s The Ron James Show.
“And if it can’t be bought, it can be prescribed, can’t it? The market is saturated with quick-fix pills pushed on the public by those storm troopers in the armies of Big Pharmacy, whose products promise to cut the edge on everything from split ends to a limp wick.”
James also takes a whack at drug advertising, which he says makes little sense.
“Call me dense, but a soft-focus montage of an elderly couple on a bench, a couple painting their house, or a buddy playing fetch with his dog does not make me think stool softener.”
The Ron James Show airs weekly on CBC TV, Friday nights at 8 p.m. ET. He’s on Facebook and Twitter.