• B.C. Pharmacare paid out $773.2 million in subsidies last year, representing a 57-per-cent increase in prescription drug spending since 1999. The biggest jump in medication use is for hypertension (high blood pressure); almost 15 per cent of British Columbians filled a prescription for hypertension drugs in 2003. Use of cholesterol-lowering drugs has more than tripled, placing them in third spot on the most-prescribed list.
• In second place is a category of drug that has generated astonishing profits for pharmaceutical companies: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), used for depression and anxiety. The first major SSRI was Prozac, released on the market in 1988, followed quickly by Paxil and Zoloft. A Health Canada report issued last year documented an increase in antidepressant use between 1981 and 2000 of 353 per cent; in 2003, more than 15 million prescriptions for SSRIs were dispensed nation-wide. Pfizer’s Zoloft was the 10th best-selling drug in the world that year, garnering $3.4 billion in sales. Fifteen percent of adult Canadians now take SSRIs and here in B.C., the number is even higher, somewhere between 15 and 20 per cent.

If you’ve got some time on your hands and expertise to share, consider joining the board of a charity or non-profit group. Not sure where to start? No problem. Altruvest Charitable Services has a service, BoardMatch Fundamentals, that matches people to boards of directors. They’ll interview you, provide orientation and set you up with a group you can feel proud of working with. http://www.boardmatch.org