Popping Pills | Ryan Gallagher
Ryan Gallagher examines Ireland’s reliance on over the counter medication.
Open up your bag or your purse. Empty out the contents. Take away everything bar the over-the-counter and prescription pills. Count how many different types you have. 3? 4? 5? On average, women tend to have more than men, but it is a phenomenon that affects both sexes. I’m sure you can justify them all. We pop pills like there is no tomorrow. We, children of the 21st Century, have a problem. Feeling under the weather? Pop a fast acing cold’n’flu pill. Feeling a bit tired? Pop a quick energy boost pill. Want to get your vitamins? Pop a vitamin with fortified iron pill. You see where I’m going with this.
Pills are the ultimate form of simplicity. Pop 'em in your mouth and swallow. There are even smiley faces on pills these days, as if to say everything will be alright- be happy! People who use pills on a medical basis are exempt, having a legitimate reason for doing so. But the rest of us haven’t that excuse to fall back on. How much paracetamol, Rennies and vitamins do we have in our cupboards? I’ve counted four packets in my house with probably another packet or two tucked away somewhere. We are all guilty of it. When we go to the supermarket and are looking to purchase something for a mineral and vitamin boost, we go to the medicine aisle when there is a huge range of vitamins and minerals for us locked inside those tiny shells.
Often the fruit and veg aisle isn’t even considered. It’s simply too much hassle having your five a day when you can simply pop a pill. Job done. Look at contraception. There is obviously the female birth pill (which is definitely one of the better pills out there). A male contraceptive pill is already in the works and by 2020 it’ll definitely be in chemists. Weight loss pills are on the markets in their droves. The media leads us to believe that everyone is battling with their weight. So why exercise when we can pop a pill?
Psychologists and doctors are warning us that that our bad habits with pills are becoming a serious issue that needs to be dealt with. We are using pills to an extent that we are not just over using but becoming more dependent on them. I’m not talking about drug users here (although there has been a significant increase in drug addicts who take to pills and tablets. Cheaper, less contamination, harder to tell if you’re a user and easier to distribute). I am talking about everyday regular Joes. Any sort of pain or irritation we encounter and we are straight off to the chemist looking for a quick fix. And if there isn’t one we demand one be made.
Despite our economic woes the majority of pharmaceutical companies continue to thrive because of our bad habits. Companies are constantly looking for new ways to pack as many vitamins and heavens know what else into those tiny pills. It’s become a race to create the new super pill. Ads on television are swamped by companies marketing their drugs in the USA. While we Irish aren’t as bad as our American counterparts, our daily use of pills are staggeringly high.
Recent reports indicate that vitamin pills aren’t as good as they claim: fruit and vegetables are much better for you. But us being college students getting our five a day isn’t always possible. There have also been several suggestions that some pills are causing an imbalance in our digestive systems, causing stomach upsets, acne and a long myriad of other complaints. But thankfully there are other pills that can counter these nasty side-effects!
Ireland has recently received a huge monetary injection into the pharmaceutical business. In Cork alone, Stryker have opened a new neurovascular division. So pills and pharmaceuticals are here to stay. It is just a matter of time and patience to see what the real side effects of becoming such a pill-reliant nation are.
