Politics

Seymour Gris: Occupy Apotheken!

Once again, Seymour is majorly pissed about the German pharmaceutical-industrial complex.

Image for Seymour Gris: Occupy Apotheken!
Photo by Steven Depelo (stevendepolo; Flickr CC)

Whenever I enter a German pharmacy to buy aspirin, the bespectacled attendant asks me whether I need any information about the dosage. This is when I invariably launch into a deranged tirade about the price of simple drugs in Germany, the privileged, spoilt pharmaceutical companies and their network of complying patronising, overpaid pharmacists – who love to cite “expert advice” when defending their quasi-monopolistic status on the German meds-market.

As if I need “advice” when buying aspirin and a host of other pricey over-the-counter tablets which are freely available in drugstores and supermarkets in many countries.

Once I am finished with my rant, the patient pharmacist looks at me as if I was mentally ill. I storm out, enraged by having to pay €8 for a few headache pills.

This morning, listening to Flux FM, I was alerted to the latest pharma rip-off. Remember the panic surrounding “swine flu” in 2009? Well, today we find out that the use-by date on €250 million worth of the swine flu vaccine Pandemrix purchased by the German state authorities has passed. What did they do? They torched it!

I’m beginning to think the Occupy-whatever movement are a tiny bit right about the one percent and their rigging of the entire political and economic system in their favour. Swine flu was one huge scam; it’s clear as day now.

GlaxoSmithKline, the company that makes the vaccine, profited hugely from the “swine flu gold rush” – panicked orders from governments around the world. In short, a billion dollar dose of international corporate welfare. It was later revealed that the scientists advising the World Health Organisation about swine flu had “financial ties” to GlaxoSmithKline.

I remember my own doctor – a Russian fellow – trying to flog me an injection of the stuff. I being slightly prejudiced about Soviet medical training, said no.

These multi-national pharma-mafias and their lackeys – governments, pharmacists and doctors around the world – need a wake-up call. Occupy an Apotheke now!