The Drugs of Humanity

In this shocking exposé, Nick van der Leek reveals to what extent addictions are conventional to our way of life.

Imagine a world in which the seller doesn’t have to push, pitch or sell the product to the buyer, the buyer instead became a willing consumer. The consumer, having lost a large modicum of self control, is encouraged to sell him or herself to the product. This is the consumer as addictive personality, increasingly willing to do anything to satisfy a greater and greater neediness. This is evidenced in transactions on credit, where the consumer has yet to earn the money required to pay for the full value of the purchased item, and so quite literally, sells future time, effort and 'life' in service to paying for various products. It is literally the exchange of life energy for 'stuff'. Our addictions have manifested in every facet of our lives, from what we eat, to shopping, gambling, drinking, even computer use. It is the exchange of ‘life’ for money.

Addiction... is a peculiarly modern condition, the loss of both personal and social control. Addictions…expose the morbidities of modern life and of modern capitalism.- Michael Watts

Food

"Addiction is our way of life." - Social psychologist Stanton Peele

We are addicted to the food we eat, the beverages we drink, and more particularly to the sugars, MSG salts, caffeine, or hot sauces in our food choices.

Addiction at its most simplest is a particular relationship between a user and a substance. The substance creates a particular energy, electrical or nerve response. For the purposes of this article, we will only look at sugar in the food category.

Kathleen DesMaisons measured the physiological responses of the human body to sugars in 1998. DesMaisons discovered that dependence on sugar followed the same paths predicated in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for other drugs of abuse. The inference is simple, but profound. A substance as simple as 'sugar' can lead to addiction, dependence and mood and behaviour disorders. Given that alcohol is a complex sugar, this is not as farfetched as it may seem at first. The genteel cup of tea in Victorian England is just as much a 'fix' as an officeworker unwrapping a chocolate bar, filling up a cup of coffee or a raver downing ecstacy in a busy nightclub.

Princeton's Bart Hoebel has found that sugar stimulated cravings and activated pathways in the brain that evolved to respond to natural rewards, meaning habitual sugar intake could become a gateway drug for other drugs.

Sugar has recently been linked to the stimulation of opioids and dopamine in the brain. Neural adaptations associated with drug taking include the same changes associated with high sugar use.

McDonald's and Coca Cola can be considered to be two well known, well recognised salt and sugar resources for our popular culture. McDonald's serves 47 million customers daily, and is the world's largest fast food restaurant franchise. It is also the only restaurant brand in Interbrand’s top 20. Coca Cola is the world's largest producer of soft drinks and considered to be the world's number one brand by Interbrand. According to Interbrand McDonald's is 7 brand positions below Coke, at 8th position in the world. Indeed, McDonald's offers sweet Coca Cola to compliment their salty Happy Meals, along with a toy. The Happy Meal is specifically tailored to children. These food and beverage brands have come up with the following pitches to the public over the last 20 years:

Make every day a McDonald's day

Enjoy more

It's what I eat and what I do

Coke...after Coke...after Coke

Coke adds life

Can't Beat the Real Thing

Taste it all

I'm lovin' it.

What we're made of

"People don't go to sleep thin and wake up obese. The understanding and comprehension of what hamburgers and French fries do has been with us for a long, long time." - McDonald's lawyer Brad Lerman.

"People need to understand that obesity is not about a beverage or a candy bar or a restaurant meal or a PlayStation game or about working longer hours. It's a systematic lifestyle issue that we must address individually and collectively as a society." - Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent

The number one leading cause of death in the world is due to coronary heart disease. The number 1 health problem in the United States is high Cholesterol. Coronary heart disease is caused by the intake of high amounts of certain fats and cholesterol in the blood (fast food are highly associated with these fats), high blood pressure (linked to obesity and poor diet) and high sugar intake (sodas are amongst the highest sugar containing beverages). High-calorie, low-nutrition franchised fast foods have well-known links to heart disease, diabetes and obesity.

Some of the highest sugar containing beverages are the Starbucks Frappucino (550 calories), Coke (155 calories) and Red Bull (110 calories). McDonald's de lux breakfast has 1140 calories (49g of fat), a Big Mac has 540 calories, while fries have even more. A large portion of McDonald's french fries have 610 calories and 29 grams of fat. The amounts of sodium (salt) in ordinary McDonald's meals is also higher than average.

6 of the top 10 selling drugs in the world treat the symptoms of excessive junk food eating:

- high cholesterol [LIPITOR – world’s best selling drug, ZOCOR world’s 10^th best selling drug]

- heart disease [PLAVIX – 2^nd best selling drug in the world]

- heartburn [NEXIUM, PREVACID]

- high blood pressure [NORVASC]

Smoking

Another leading cause of heart disease is smoking. The article focuses on smoking rather than alcoholism based on the popularity of this vice, and the efforts of tobacco companies to increase the addictiveness of their product.

Marlboro is the world's most popular tobacco company, the 14th most popular brand in the world, whilst Budweiser, the world's most popular alcohol brand is ranked 30th. In spite of the warnings that appear on cigarette packs [SMOKING CAUSES CANCER], and perhaps to some extent as a result of these warnings, the tobacco industry continues to do well. How is this possible?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081028102816.htm

According to ScienceDaily.com the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP), reports that nicotine dependence severity has increased 12 percent between 1989 and 2006, while the proportion of people classified as highly nicotine dependent has increased even more, at 32 percent. Smokers are regarded as highly addicted if they light up within 30 minutes of waking up in the morning. Given the increased on-pack warnings, and the lack of above the line marketing, this is an unprecedented increase.

It confirms that smoking is related first and foremost to the 'rebel response' (against parents, in sympathy to various 'cool' idols in a peer group). Subsequent changes in ego response to the temptation to smoke are rendered ineffectual since by this time the addiction has had time to set in and tends to be lifelong.

Do Tobacco companies have our interests at heart? In 2000 Philip Morris admitted it had used ammonia to boost the absorption of nicotine in their cigarettes; making their cigarettes more addictive. In 2006 the Washington Post reported that nicotine in 92 of 116 brands tested rose almost 10% on average for the period 1998-2004. Not surprisingly brands most popular with young people showed the highest nicotine levels, and the largest increases in these concentrations. A R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. low tar product demonstrated the biggest increase in yield, at 36%. Marlboro products - a favorite for most high school smokers - had nicotine concentrations 12% higher. Menthol cigarettes, smoked by two thirds of Americans, were also found to be more addictive than other cigarettes.

Big Tobacco financially supported global warming sceptics for years. - Michael Watts

Why would tobacco companies support global warming sceptics? Because global warming sceptics and smokers probably had one thing in common - denial of the health risks to themselves and the planet. Tobacco wanted to strengthen this denial in what was likely to be one and the same group.

Corn and Meat

The $100-billion fast food industry rests on a foundation of corn.. - Brandon Keim [WIRED]

If people are addicted to the nicotine in tobacco, or the sugars and salts in fast food, then fast food is addicted to corn. Fast food is predicated on cheap and abundant corn. But now corn is no longer cheap, and its abundance has been mitigated by the biofuel bonanza. Between early 2006 and 2008, the average world price for maize increased 125%. Diverting maize from food to fuel led to "Agflation" in late 2007. Price bubbles in maize caused cascades into other crops - wheat prices increased 200%, rice prices hit 10 year highs, milk and meat prices doubled in many countries, and soy prices hit a 34 year high in December 2007. Over the last 8 years world food prices have risen 75%.

With US corn subsidies approaching $10 billion per annum, environmentalists see corn as the poster child for unsustainable, inefficient agriculture. What's more, corn requires substantially more fossil fuel inputs (for fertilizers, pesticides and irritation) than other crops. Fertilisers, comprising a quarter of US grain production costs, have been central to rising food prices. Over the past 5 years, fertiliser prices have increased 150%. Meanwhile world grain stores are at a 30 year low.

The main reason for our corn addiction, believe it or not, is the growing addiction - especially in China - for meat. 20 years ago Chinese consumers ate an average of 20kg of meat a year. Today more than 50 kilograms is consumed on average. The implications are vast. Increased meat consumption in China implies increased deforestation in South America. It also implies more water (thirteen times more) diverted to created animal tissue as opposed to plant tissues alone.

Around 1000 litres are required per day for a vegetarian's food, while15000 litres per day are needed for a meat eater. 78 calories of fossil fuel produce one calorie of beef protein. 2 calories of fossil fuel produce one calorie of soybean. A world on a meat-only diet would consume all the world's known oil reserves in 13 years. These would last 20 times longer (260 years) if we gave up meat altogether.

Oil

Our oil addiction speaks for itself. Oil is no longer cheap or abundant. The current recessionary processes and the destruction of the global financial apparatus have been blamed on the confluence of a highly addicted society convulsing on an increasingly expensive and increasingly scarce resource.

Our oil addiction is hugely destructive, defies logic and is nearly impossible to break. But unlike crack and tobacco, we will eventually run out of oil. -Michael Watts

Increased use of fossil fuels has increased CO2 in the atmosphere to 385ppm. Not only is this beyond the 350 ppm critical threshold identified by the world’s Climate Change experts, but implies dangerous pollution levels in certain regions. SERETIDE/ADVAIR is one of the world’s top Asthma drugs. Asthma has direct links to increased levels of atmospheric pollutants.

Depression

We are dosing ourselves with such high levels of pharmaceuticals that we are now collectively polluting the rivers, streams and even the drinking water for the mass public. - Mike Adams /www.naturalnews.com

Spending on prescription drugs has topped $640 billion. Anti-depressants in particular are prescribed at alarming levels. A study in the UK found that prescription drugs have been detected in sewage treatment centres. These chemicals have been found in rivers and streams used to process drinking water for people downstream.

While antidepressants are themselves not addictive, tell that to those suffering from depression who feel critically dependent on their medication. Many depression sufferers fear relinquishing their chemical ‘crutches’, and with good reason. There is a link between patients coming off depression medication and suicide. In fact antidepressant drugs (Paxil for example) actually promote violent behaviour - including homicides. This suggests either that a patient should not go on anti-depressants to start off with, or if they do, they should maintain use for the remainder of their lives. How is the latter prescription any different from conventional dependence, let alone addiction?

In addition to depression drugs such as EFFEXOR, two Schizophrenia treatments RISPERDAL and ZYPREXA are in the top selling prescription drugs worldwide. Schizophrenia relates to problems people have in perceiving or expressing reality.
Social processes such as television watching, the media, advertising, soap operas, movies, computer games, mood altering drugs, some foods, prescription and recreational drugs cause or worsen symptoms. In otherwise, the ordinary dystopia and ‘addictiveness’ of modern life can cause ordinary people to develop schizophrenia.

Given the above, is it surprising that suicide is among the three leading causes of death for those aged 15-44 years (both sexes). One person commits suicide in the world every 40 seconds (over 1 million dead per year). Depression and substance abuse is associated with more than 90% of suicide cases. Socio-economic and socio-cultural factors have an impact also, such as losing one’s job or becoming socially outcast.

What do we learn from the above? That the market is filled with deadly deceits. We are hypnotised to buy more, feel better, even though in reality we become addicted, feel worse, get sick and then have the market provide us with medications that make us addicted to their ‘cures’ side effects notwithstanding. We pay to get sick, pay to get healthy (or some semblance of improved circumstances).

Do you know anyone who is addicted to gaming, or suffers from depression, or has an eating disorder, or regularly uses recreational drugs, or is sex addicted? I do. This is the price for unconscious living.