Worldwide, 25 million people take drugs known as statins to lower their cholesterol, but according to the 'experts' 200 million could use them. Now researchers are saying that using higher doses of statins--doses double those currently used--reduces the risk of heart attack, bypass surgery and chest pains more than 'gentler' doses. This will likely put pressure on doctors to use even more aggressive--and more expensive--doses of statin drugs. The United States already spends more on statins--$12.5 billion--than any other medicine, and when you consider that a starting dose for Lipitor costs $900 per year, while the 80-milligram dose used in the new study costs about $1,400 annually, you get an idea of just how much more expensive this will be. While there are likely to be some people who benefit from statins, it is probably far less than 5 percent of the people who currently take them. But even worse than the added expense, and what these experts don't realize, is that statins kill people--lots of people--and they wound many, many more. I strongly encourage you to read on to get the truth about cholesterol-lowering drugs.
Yahoo! News March 8, 2004