Many prescription drug dangers are the result of lack of government influence and oversight in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a company that has carte blanche to manage itself (Perkins). This creates many problems for American consumers. One of these problems is the shockingly high prices of pharmaceuticals. They are almost impossible to afford for those who do not have insurance or prescription drug coverage. Studies by the Kaiser Family Foundation show that "employer-funded private health insurance premiums increased 13.9 percent this year, the largest increase since 1989," a trend expected to continue for many years. years (Coy). Rising health insurance costs along with already high prescription drug prices make pharmaceuticals difficult for many Americans to purchase. Pharmaceutical companies justify high prices by citing the high cost of researching and developing a new drug. For once, this is a truthful statement from these companies. Research and development is a long and expensive process. However, pharmaceutical companies are much less involved in research and development than they would have us believe. Large pharmaceutical companies actually contribute very little to the research and development of a new drug. Marcia Angell talks about the research and development process in her book about pharmaceutical companies saying: "Contrary to industry propaganda, this is almost always done in universities or government research laboratories, whether in this country or abroad. » (21-22). Professors and students from universities around the world conduct research and develop new drugs for pharmaceutical companies. Every year, pharmaceutical companies make huge profits by providing little funding for research and development, while their research is middle of paper...... on their new asthma drug called Advair, which was nothing more than a combination of two of the company's oldest drugs. No changes were made to either medication; they were only combined and marketed under a new name as a new drug (Peterson 17). The color of a pill is also used as a marketing tool to try to give pills a personality. IMS Health consultants said: "Pink is perceived as calming and may be suitable for heart medications or tranquilizers, while bright colors such as red suggest rapid action and stimulation, and therefore may be suitable for a pain reliever or antidepressant. » The same marketing tool that Coca-Cola used with the color red, where the bright color represented the "crisp" taste of Coca-Cola. In the marketing campaigns of companies such as those of AstraZeneca (Peterson 18).