Americas favourite pill
I was shocked to find out that Americas most popular pill was not for birth control but infact a potent little tranquilizer called Miltown-according to historian Andrea Tone. Despite little marketing, Miltown became the fastest selling drug in U.S history. Andrea describes the pill as the original mothers little helper which sparked a consumer frenzie that emptied pharmacies when introduced in 1955. Andreas book The Age of Anxiety raises the question do we need these drugs, or does Big Pharma push them on us?
The responsibility for our pill popping culture is often placed on overhyped medications and harried doctors all to willing to write prescriptions (Tony Dokoupil) but in the case of Miltown the demand seems to be patient driven. Should patients accept more responsibility for the pill popping society we live in?