As if there weren't enough 'depressing' news around, now comes word through the WSJ that a quarter of kids in this benighted country are taking prescription drugs on a regular basis. Of course, most medicos have little idea what these drugs are really doing to our kids in the long run. Much of the doses are for asthma, and many of these are prescribed to black children. Ned wonders how many black kids who have asthma can't afford the relatively benign medication, like corticosteroids, to control it. And how many live in polluted conditions that are causing the asthma in the first place?
And how many kids have unhealthy diets that are causing the problem that drugs are used to "fix?"
Ned recalls that the three greatest sources of calories for kids are baked desserts, pizza, and sodas.
But that's beside the point. What is going on here when a quarter of our children are on drugs whose long-term impact is unknown? And how many are on multiple drugs? And how many are wrongly prescribed?
The reference is http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203731004576046073896475588.html. Read it and weep.
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