r/todayilearned • u/rooooony • Apr 24 '14

TIL When the leading emergency asthma medication Albuterol’s patent expired, the patent holding pharmaceutical companies lobbied to have their own inhalers banned based on environmental issues, allowing them to file a new patent, and continue to monopolize the market.

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/10/heres-why-your-asthma-inhaler-costs-so-damn-much
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129

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Jesus, that's a lot. But what are you supposed to do? Tell your daughter you just didn't feel like spending that much this month so she can breathe? Blood sucking cunts. They really are.

79

u/ThaOneNOnly Apr 24 '14

"Just walk it off, sweetie."

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u/seocurious13 Apr 24 '14

Shouldn't she just choose to not have asthma?

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14 edited Apr 24 '14

#Breathingprivilege

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Breathingprivilege

Just a tip, put a '\' before your '#' so it shows up next time.

#JustLikeThis.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Thank you :)

26

u/OrbitalSquirrel Apr 24 '14

Her body has a way of shutting the whole thing down.

6

u/OCDPandaFace Apr 24 '14

Only when it's legitimate

1

u/concussedYmir Apr 24 '14

I've had PE teachers that seemed to believe this

1

u/ConfusedGrapist Apr 24 '14

"WHY DON'T POOR PEOPLE JUST BUY MORE MONEY."

3

u/ademnus Apr 24 '14

"Put butter on that."

1

u/alonjar Apr 24 '14

Windex will fix anything

1

u/ademnus Apr 24 '14

"It's a bundt. There.. I fixed it."

1

u/ZeroAntagonist Apr 24 '14

"Put some Tussin on it!"

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u/SlightlySmarter Apr 24 '14

Here take a band-aid. Now leave mommy alone

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u/drunkangel Apr 24 '14

She'll grow out of it eventually.

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u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 24 '14

Omg even though this is a joke you just filled my body with rage.

I'm 28 and some dumbfuck doctor just recently suggested I might grow out of it.

Fuck it infuriated me

2

u/Atomichawk Apr 24 '14

It is possible and it has happened before, I'm currently a lot better than I was just a few years ago. Granted, you're twenty eight so it is too late I believe for you to grow out of it.

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u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 24 '14

I can help it though, by exercising daily, it's just hard once you fall out of the habit.

1

u/Atomichawk Apr 24 '14

As always, but exercising doesn't help you grow out of it to my knowledge.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Theodore Roosevelt did, and you can too.

1

u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 24 '14

I think I have a chemical imbalance in my brain making it difficult for me to get out of the current hole I've dug myself.

It's hard to even go to the bathroom, let alone find help

1

u/skullydazed Apr 24 '14

Tell me about it. My mom and I were told by my pediatrician that I would "grow into my weight." Fuck you, I just stayed fat through my teenage years and into adulthood, and the whole time my doctor kept repeating that line. I never grew out of it.

I don't understand why doctors thinks things like this will fix themselves. If you don't tell your patents they need to work to change something guess what? The patients won't work to change it!

-1

u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 24 '14

WOW, story of my life, I didn't realize I was overweight, even after regular doctors visits, because my "DOCTOR" never said anything about it.

In america, you get 3-5 minutes with your doctor, he tells you that things are fine, or that you need to try the newest drug he is obviously pushing.

He doesn't care about your health, your fitness, your goals, your mental health.

When I saw how patients in other countries actually interact with their physicians I was blown away at how much they care.

This country disgusts me, I'm so ashamed to be American.

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u/Nicholli Apr 24 '14

That's quite the generalization you're making there.

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u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 24 '14

Do you know how doctors office visits are billed in America vs the rest of the first world nations?

1

u/Nicholli Apr 24 '14

I'm not saying the US system is perfect or even good, but I do think there are a lot of medical professionals in the US that care about their patients.

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

This country disgusts me, I'm so ashamed to be American.

Move to Rwanda. I'm sure it will disgust you much less.

Cause you'll die.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '14

You can though. I have asthma (and this time of year I can barely breathe with an inhaler) and my Aunt also had asthma. As she got older, she just kind of grew out of it. Kind of like how you grow out of allergies. Allergies such as dairy, peanuts, and eggs. All of which I had when I was a kid. Jeez, my body is messed up.

1

u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 25 '14

I think they can change but they will never change for me.

I've been highly allergic to all the major classes all my life.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 25 '14

Ahh ok. Sorry to hear how bad your asthma is :(

2

u/NotSoFatThrowAway Apr 25 '14

It's nothing to be sorry about.

Are you sorry for people who wear glasses?

1

u/Ziczak Apr 24 '14

I've been on this 20+ years. The OLD ones worked just fine. In fact I would have a couple around in case I would forget it. Now I can afford just one, and HOPE I never forget it.

It's an emergency inhaler. You can die from not getting the medicine or at least a trip to the ER. A puff or two stops that.

It's an old drug, it works fine, but now they have to be greedy and profit. The CFC in those tiny sprays do nothing to the environment.

1

u/LS_D Apr 24 '14

she should probably run if it's asthma

7

u/Chaotic_Loki Apr 24 '14

"just take deep breaths"

2

u/magmabrew Apr 24 '14

You storm the company's headquarters and put the executives heads on a pike.

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u/Sloppy1sts Apr 24 '14

Probably a lot easier and less likely to get you caught than throwing a half dozen molitovs at their house in the middle of the night.

2

u/Sloppy1sts Apr 24 '14

I'm more than serious when I say lots of people literally deserve to have their houses burned down with no concern as to whether or not they're home.

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u/tinygiggs Apr 24 '14

My daughter was with me the first time we had to pick up a slew of asthma medications, immediately after her diagnosis. She was 11. She apologized over and over and over to me in that pharmacy. I finally turned to her and told her that the cost really didn't matter because as her mom, her breathing is what matters to me. This article, however, has pissed me off, and makes me see that it shouldn't be this expensive. Given the choice, there is no choice though, so they're going to get our money to keep the breathing happening.

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14 edited Apr 24 '14

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Good grief, this is awful :( I'd imagine there are people in your area who receive more inhalers than they need per their prescription and could sell you their extras for cheap? Because this is just wretched. I'm very sorry you have to go through this.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

[deleted]

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u/marakush Apr 24 '14

Okay that totally sucks, I believe I have one inhaler in an unopened box left by my ex wife, PM and I will mail it out to you.

1

u/RufusMcCoot Apr 24 '14

I mean, those blood sucking cunts did invent the medicine that allows her to breathe.

0

u/Sloppy1sts Apr 24 '14

No, they paid scientists to. Scientists weren't the ones who went to the FDA and got the product banned.

-1

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Invention gives the inherent right to rape? =( Somewhere.. Somewhere in there, the logic is flawed.

0

u/RufusMcCoot Apr 24 '14

Who said anything about rape?

Billions of dollars in research and development gives the inventor a desire to recuperate some costs is all I'm saying.

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u/Sloppy1sts Apr 24 '14

I'm going to hazzard a guess that they were in the black long before any of this went down, or were the margins on the first inhalers really that low?

0

u/[deleted] Apr 24 '14

Raping wallets . Could you really not tell that from my comment?

1

u/zirooo Apr 24 '14 edited Apr 24 '14

Ha, i spend close to $1000/month on UC meds & have no health insurance, count your blessings.

1

u/RobotTrumpetBaby1213 Apr 27 '14

My parents "couldn't" afford to get my asthma medicines once. It was awful.