Bloomberg.com reports disturbing news about our disturbed population, which shelled out $234 billion in 2008 for prescription drugs, saying nearly half the population is on something or other. And then there's this little tidbit at the end:
For adults ages 20 to 59, antidepressants, including Eli Lilly and Co.’s Cymbalta and Pfizer Inc.’s Zoloft, were the most-used drugs.
I note from this source that in 2007 the top five antidepressants were prescribed at a rate in excess of 100 million times. The thirteen antidepressants listed were prescribed an astounding 201.9 million times. That's a lot of Americans walking around emotionally medicated, perhaps between 16 million and 50 million people. How does that compare with the depressants we consume?
Despite this headline back in March, "Alcohol Sales Sober in 2009," the economic downturn did not result in an overall decline in alcohol consumption in 2009:
Distilled spirits and wine experienced positive results, albeit at a much slower rate than in the past, while beer saw unprecedented declines. ...
Distilled spirits grew 1.7 percent in 2009 to 188.7 million cases, marking the 12th consecutive year of positive results for the category. However, the spirits market's expansion slowed from the 3.2 percent gain posted in 2007 and 2.1 percent in 2008. ...
Wine experienced a slight slowdown in its 2009 growth rate. Wine consumption increased 0.8 percent, only 0.1 percent less than its 2008 gain, and finished the year at 297.1 million 9-liter cases. ...
Total beer consumption declined 1.4 percent in 2009 to 2.9 billion cases.
I put that at about .8 cases of booze for every adult per year, 1.3 cases of wine, and 12.7 cases of beer, assuming an adult population of 228 million in 2008. That comes to about .78 ounces of booze per day, and 10 ounces of beer. In other words, a shot and a beer. And less than a glass of wine a week.
And maybe a Zoloft.
For adults ages 20 to 59, antidepressants, including Eli Lilly and Co.’s Cymbalta and Pfizer Inc.’s Zoloft, were the most-used drugs.
I note from this source that in 2007 the top five antidepressants were prescribed at a rate in excess of 100 million times. The thirteen antidepressants listed were prescribed an astounding 201.9 million times. That's a lot of Americans walking around emotionally medicated, perhaps between 16 million and 50 million people. How does that compare with the depressants we consume?
Despite this headline back in March, "Alcohol Sales Sober in 2009," the economic downturn did not result in an overall decline in alcohol consumption in 2009:
Distilled spirits and wine experienced positive results, albeit at a much slower rate than in the past, while beer saw unprecedented declines. ...
Distilled spirits grew 1.7 percent in 2009 to 188.7 million cases, marking the 12th consecutive year of positive results for the category. However, the spirits market's expansion slowed from the 3.2 percent gain posted in 2007 and 2.1 percent in 2008. ...
Wine experienced a slight slowdown in its 2009 growth rate. Wine consumption increased 0.8 percent, only 0.1 percent less than its 2008 gain, and finished the year at 297.1 million 9-liter cases. ...
Total beer consumption declined 1.4 percent in 2009 to 2.9 billion cases.
I put that at about .8 cases of booze for every adult per year, 1.3 cases of wine, and 12.7 cases of beer, assuming an adult population of 228 million in 2008. That comes to about .78 ounces of booze per day, and 10 ounces of beer. In other words, a shot and a beer. And less than a glass of wine a week.
And maybe a Zoloft.
