Embed Notice

US people and Swedish people have very different relations to medication.

Swedes generally undermedicate. I have made a vow to compensate for it and take an aspirin when there's a rational reason to do so. And to keep aspirin and ibuprofen around to enable that. I know the names of paracetamol and ibuprofen because of a catchy song in a popular ad in the 90s.

When I watch some US shows, medical brands are part of the vocabulary and I have to stop and look them up to follow the dialog. The intended audience is so fluent in dozens of brands for various states of mind or body, that a character can go "ugh, I need my $BRAND" and you're supposed to know "oh, he's sad", or "oh, she's jittery for the presentation tomorrow", and I'm probably missing the more subtle "oh, that person is probably taking too much of their $OTHERBRAND".

I think that is the opioid crisis. Not some shady guy in a garage and/or another country responding to the demand.

I think the right balance is probably somewhere in between.