Stop and Shop and Drop
I popped into the Stop and Shop today to pick up a bottle of Kombucha. I'm hooked on the cidery, vinegary drink, which I add to seltzer, since it's pricey stuff. Speaking of pricey stuff? How about a "cost free flu shot" at the pharmacy? As I was checking myself out (the unpaid labor kind, not "hey there hottie" in the mirror kind) I was surprised by a large display of Reese's Cups on the checkout machine. Stop and Shop stopped hiring cashiers years ago, and trended to more and more of the self-check out machines. My guess is that they are losing a TON of impulse purchases because we now wait in line and then march up the the next available check out machine without browsing the National Enquirer headlines or contemplating a pack of Doublemint Gum or a box of Tic Tacs. The scanners and machines are convenient only to a point. Though it is kind of cool to pretend that the scanner is a phaser set to stun. Oh, back to my point.
There was this big bucket of KING SIZE Reese's cups perched precariously on the machine. And below it? Stop and Shop now includes a charity and you have to OPT OUT of donating at every purchase. YES is on top to round up your change. NO is on the bottom. You often have to look to even see WHAT is the darn charity. I checked this one, "Cure Children's Cancer." While you stare at the Reese's cups, you are supposed to figure out what is this charity? So I looked closely. And it's Memorial Sloan Kettering Hospital System. Every food within 15 paces of the cash registers and check out machines is toxic and contributes to cancer: from my beloved Entenmann's treats, to potato chips, to candy of all sorts. Most of every American Grocery store is one big cancer causing mess. Cancer machine behemoth Memorial Sloan Kettering is asking for donations. Do they treat patients for free?
Then, on the way out of the store (and in) you get to read this giant sign at the pharmacy. The line for Rx drugs is long. "Save time!" Oh my goodness. Get your "Cost Free" flu shot! Just look at all the vaccines you can get at the grocery store in America. We are a nation of sickness. Food that kills. Medicine whose side effects are worse than the ills they treat.
It's time..... to Stop. And shop somewhere else. Kim
I have been carrying the CDC's Vaccine Excipient list with me when I go to a doctor's appointment. I am prepared when they ask me if I want a vaccine, to ask them to review the vaccine's insert and the ingredients listed on the Excipient list, and to tell me why they think it is safe. You know, kinda quiz them?
I would also ask to read and review their "Informed Consent Form."
My husband recently had a CT scan. I asked for an informed consent form, one that would list the risks of having a CT scan. The hospital intake person had obviously never heard that question before. "Maybe the CT Department has such a form," they advised me.
Posted by: Montana NAR | September 29, 2019 at 03:03 PM
Barry; I am pretty sure the pharmaceutical company still gets money from this; it is the stores who are giving them as "bonuses" Though there may be some free programs that are used by the pharmaceutical companies as tax right offs/"good community relations". I always find a quick, "Sorry, no thanks we have vaccine injury in our family"ends the conversation, and hopefully either reminds some that their products are not always safe, or may get someone to actually look at the package inserts and see what injuries can occur with the product that they are hawking..
Posted by: Hera | September 28, 2019 at 10:11 AM
Global pharma spending was around 1.2 trillion in 2018, and is expected to hit 1.5 trillion in 2023. That is an insanely successful business model, which basically amounts to selling expensive medical treatments for various human illnesses.
Is anyone else surprised, to see these companies so determined to just give one of their products away? Especially a product that's been billed as a "Medical Miracle', a product that's supposedly so effective at preventing illnesses ?
if the basic element of your business model is to profit from illness, then why on earth would you even develop products that prevent them? Much less be so eager to just give them away.
Posted by: Barry | September 27, 2019 at 04:22 PM
They didn't include aluminum (Merck refuses to give out its proprietary aluminum salt for testing) but at least someone in Japan is looking at how chemicals kill developing brains - zebrafish are standing in for humans https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8247/12/4/145
Posted by: Beleaguered Autism Mom | September 27, 2019 at 03:00 PM
I wonder how many times you have to drive through until they stop asking you....oh your the one that refuses vaccines!!or until you get the eye roll,or the blank stare or the just move on..job done.Yeah have a nice night.
Pharma
Posted by: Angus Files | September 27, 2019 at 01:27 PM
I was in the CVS drive thru picking up a prescription. The pharmacy clerk told me they were offering flu shots and asked if I’d like to come in and get one. Where to begin... I was in the drive thru because my VACCINE INJURED teenager was with me and sometimes it’s just easier to not go into the store... so many things at play here...
I said “No thank you. Absolutely not!!”
Posted by: 4Bobby | September 27, 2019 at 08:05 AM
Our Acme offered 10% off your grocery bill if you get a flu shot. I was offered one as I passed by. I told him nicely that it was full of mercury and I have a vaccine injured son. I told him I developed TTP Purpera after a DPT and was hospitalized for a long time. They are promoting this extra strength flu shot for seniors. They are in many of the stores offering free things.
Posted by: Elaine Dow | September 27, 2019 at 07:37 AM