Word: pill
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Those were different times, of course. But the idea that a single pill might turn back the clock quickly caught the popular imagination. It didn't hurt that the hormone's No. 1 manufacturer, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, launched an aggressive marketing campaign. Thank goodness today's spots have been updated to feature the dulcet tones of singer Patti LaBelle and have abandoned patronizing messages like the one in a 1975 ad--"Almost any tranquilizer might calm her down...but at her age, estrogen may be what she really needs...
Half of these women were randomly assigned to receive the hormone combination, and the other half were given a placebo, or dummy pill. Neither the women nor their doctors knew who was taking the active medication. This type of study, called a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, is the most rigorous type of investigation scientists know how to conduct. It's a long, difficult path to take to get an answer, but at least you can be certain of the results...
...another mechanical breakdown in the factory, New Delhi businessman Arun Goel broke down himself. His head throbbed unbearably as he fretted in the sweltering heat about power outages, missed deadlines and looming contract commitments. Seeing his distress, a friend handed him a glass of water and a small, yellow pill. The businessman swallowed. "It was like magic," Goel says. "Within 15 minutes, I had calmed down and was feeling optimistic that things would work...
...little yellow pill is Alprax, a generic tranquilizer and antianxiety medication that is fast becoming the drug of choice among India's more prosperous classes. Just as U.S. yuppies in the 1990s reached for the antidepressant Prozac as a cure-all for the blues, India's shopkeepers, executives, socialites, housewives and models everywhere seem to be popping "Al" to help them cope with life's everyday stresses. Some parents are even recommending Alprax to their children to calm their nerves prior to exams. "I take the pill to gain a certain amount of confidence," admits a 34-year...
...Indeed, the realization that Alprax is no magic pill is dawning too late for some. Two months after Singh died, her sister-in-law was found hanging from her bedroom ceiling. The coroner found she had taken at least 10 Alprax tablets before she committed suicide...