Drug ads on TV are almost always annoying, and frightening, too, if you listen to the mandatory disclaimers about some of the bad things that might happen if you take the drug.

Presumably, the advertised drugs represent an improvement over what's already on the market, but a published study suggests otherwise. It found that less than one-third of drugs commonly advertised on TV have "high therapeutic value," offering at least moderate improvement for patients compared to existing therapies.

Drug companies spent $15.9 billion from 2015 to 2021 on TV ads for products that researchers said were rated as low in therapeutic value.

More Drug News, Some Good

The cost of prescription medicine prices is projected to rise 8% annually over the next three years, reports STAT. But a CDC survey found that in 2021, the percentage of people living in families struggling to pay medical bills over the previous 12 months declined from 14% in 2019 to 10.8% in 2021.

That translates to 10.5 million fewer people in families having problems paying medical bills than the 45.5 million in 2019.

Body of Knowledge

Don't admit it, but everyone farts: Roughly 500 to 1,500 milliliters of gas per day, expelled in an average of 10-20 farts. Nearly all of the gas (99%) is odorless, primarily hydrogen, carbon dioxide, methane and air that you've swallowed. The stinky gas is hydrogen sulfide, a byproduct of digesting foods containing sulfur.

Gum and soda can make you fart more due to swallowed air and carbonation. Products that reduce flatulence work by starving the bacteria that produce odorous gas, but this is not a good idea since it can interfere with microbial gut health.

The only known mammal that does not fart is the sloth.

Get Me That, Stat!

In 2021, teen birth rates by state ranged from a high of 26.5 (per 1,000 females age 15-19) in Arkansas to a low of 5.4 in New Hampshire, according to the National Vital Statistics System.

Counts

1.4 million: Number of emergency department visits in U.S. for assault in 2020

26,031: Number of deaths from homicide

20,958: Number of homicides involving firearms

Sources: National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, 2020; National Vital Statistics System-Mortality data (2021)

Doc Talk

Occult: something not visible to the naked eye, but seen under a microscope or through lab tests

Phobia of the Week

Kakorrhaphiophobia: fear of failure or defeat, as in trying to spell this word

Best Medicine

Patient: "Doc, I'm totally depressed. I feel like I don't want to do anything."

Doctor: "Try drinking a gallon of water before you go to sleep."

Patient: "What good will that do?"

Doctor: "It will give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning."

Observation

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained." — Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Medical History

This week in 1966, a chemist named James M. Schlatter applied for a patent for "Peptide Sweetening Agents," an invention that eventually led to the marketing of aspartame under the name NutraSweet. A few months earlier, Schlatter accidentally discovered the sweetener when, to pick up a paper, he licked his finger and tasted an unexpectedly sweet trace of a substance that, he realized, has earlier splashed onto the outside of a flask he had handled.

Perishable Publications

Many, if not most, published research papers have titles that defy comprehension. They use specialized jargon, complex words and opaque phrases like "nonlinear dynamics." Sometimes they don't, and yet they're still hard to figure out. Here's an actual title of actual published research study: "Can you tell your clunis from your cubitus?"

Published in the British Medical Journal in 2004, the paper was a dissertation on functional imaging, such as how to discern which regions of the brain related to other parts of the body. Clunis is another word for buttocks; a cubitus is a medical term for the joint connecting the forearm to the upper arm. In other words, the researchers were asking if you can tell your arse from your elbow.

Med School

Q: Which of these statements about sugar and health is not true?

1. You should avoid fruits because of the sugar content.

2. Artificial sweeteners are the same as naturally occurring sugars.

3. You're better off eliminating all sugar from your diet.

4. Consuming sugar is detrimental to your fitness regime.

5. Blood sugar spikes are only caused by sugar.

A: All five statements are not true. 1. Fruits contain natural sugars that break down more slowly in the body than refined carbs, and they're packed with vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. 2. Artificial sweeteners contain no calories, but also no nutrients — and some have been linked to health problems. 3. Our bodies need sugar, which is converted into glucose — a source of cellular fuel and energy. 4. See the previous answer. 5. Blood sugar spikes can be caused by other factors, such as stress, illness and lifestyle. Sunburns, dehydration, gum disease, smoking and lack of sleep can contribute to unstable blood sugar levels.

Last Words

"Remember, honey; don't forget what I told you. Put in my coffin a deck of cards, a mashie niblick (a kind of golf club) and a blonde." — Comedian Leonard Chico Marx (1887-1961)

"Die, my dear? Why, that is the last thing I'd do." — Comedian Groucho Marx (1890-1977)

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: IAOM-US at Pixabay