Are we putting our money where are mouth is when it comes to biomedical research? 

Alcohol-related crashes, which are entirely preventable, cost about $45 billion per year. That sum would fund all research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for more than 2 years!!! [Source: USAA Magazine (March/April 2001), NIH.]. 

And Americans spend more than $32 billion on weddings, a sum that nearly equals the amount of money spent per year  by both the National Institutes of Health and the pharmaceutical industry combined.

Medical research not only leads to discoveries that save lives and improve the quality of life, but that save money as well.  For example, medical research led to the discovery that ulcers can be complicated by bacteria, a discovery that led to a simple cure with relatively inexpensive antibiotics.  The cost savings?  $600 million per year in treatment costs.
[Source: "Bioscience Research, Development & Industry: Impact on Health & Economic Growth in Wisconsin" - Wisconsin Association for Biomedical Research].  

Another research study showed that a five year delay in the onset of deafness and hearing loss would save more than $15 billion annually in treatment costs.
[Source: "Putting Aging on Hold: Delaying the Diseases of Old Age" - Alliance for Aging Research]

What can you do to increase the amount of money allocated to biomedical research?  Let your congressional representatives know how important it is, and how important it is to you.

Created: 6/29/2001  -  Donnica Moore, M.D.