Paula Deen’s Diabetes Announcement Glorifies “Lifestyle” Drugs

The news broke this week that southern chef Paula Deen, famous for her “just throw a stick of butter in it” style of cooking, has been living with type-2 diabetes for three years. While the announcement wasn’t a shock to most Americans who tune into Paula’s shows, which feature everything from gooey butter cake to a cheeseburger topped with glazed donuts, many are wondering why the queen of southern cooking has waited so long to make her announcement.

Obesity is a Risk Factor for Diabetes
Type-2 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects the body’s ability to control blood sugar levels, which are naturally regulated by insulin. An estimated 26 million Americans are currently suffering with diabetes, and about 90% of them have type-2 diabetes.

Most people who are diagnosed with type-2 diabetes are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed. And unfortunately, diabetes can be a silent killer. According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes was the underlying cause of more than 71,000 deaths in 2007 alone. Health experts estimate that the number of people with type-2 diabetes will double by the year 2050.

A person’s risk of getting type-2 diabetes increases with age and weight. An unhealthy diet of foods high in sugar, Paula Deen’s specialty, also contributes to a person’s risk.

Paula’s Party—Taking Drugs to Eat Unhealthy
Paula announced January 17th that she is teaming up with pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk in the “Diabetes in a New Light” campaign. Novo Nordisk is the maker of Victoza, which is a drug used daily via injections to maintain blood sugar levels. The drug is advertised on Paula’s new website www.diabetesinanewlight.com, and an advertisement for the drug will feature Paula and is expected to be released within the next month.

Patients taking Victoza, also known as liraglutide injection, have a heightened risk of developing thyroid cancer, which can be deadly if not treated early. When asked about this risk, Paula seemed unaware.

Of course, Paula is being paid by Novo Nordisk, but when asked in an interview with USA Today about her partnership with the pharmaceutical company, she said “Talking about money is garish. It’s tacky. But of course, I’m being compensated for my time. That’s the way our world works.”

But is that the way the world has to work? Couldn’t Paula have chosen to do her own public service campaign in which she gives people recipes for healthy meals rather than proclaiming she uses a drug to control her diabetes? True, she probably wouldn’t make as much money doing this, but by teaming up with a pharmaceutical company, Paula could be sending the message to her fans that unhealthy eating is fine, as long as you take a pill to counteract the bad effects.

Big Pharma is in it for Profits
Unfortunately, despite what pharmaceutical companies want us to believe, magic pills just do not exist. And some of the drugs that pharmaceuticals advertise as “lifestyle” drugs have been shown to be dangerous, causing complications that range from blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks, to certain types of cancer, and even femur fractures.

Take Avandia, for example. When Avandia was put on the market, it was praised as a drug that would help people control their type-2 diabetes. Its manufacturer, GlaxoSmithKline, made approximately $2.6 billion on the drug in 2006 alone and continued to market it even after the company estimated the drug had caused 83,000 heart attacks between 1999 and 2007. Only in 2010 did the FDA take Avandia off the market.

Novo Nordisk and GlaxoSmithKline are not alone in their quest for profits. Each day, pharmaceutical companies directly advertise to consumers, attempting to convince them that they need a certain drug to live a happy, healthy life. To learn more about tricks the pharmaceutical companies use to get you to buy their drugs, download my free e-book Prescription Drug Safety: 7 Secrets the Pharmaceutical Industry Does Not Want You to Know at www.vanweylaw.com.

Don't hesitate to contact Kay Van Wey at (800)489-5082 for a free, no obligation consultation.

Van Wey Law serves:

The entire state of Texas, including Dallas, Plano, Frisco, McKinney, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio

The entire state of Oklahoma, including Tulsa and Oklahoma City

Chicago, Illinois and surrounding areas

The entire United States for health care fraud, “pill mill” cases, and dangerous pharmaceutical products