• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to footer

Personal Profitability

Start on Your Path to Personal Profitability

  • Start Here
  • About
    • Media & Interviews
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Profitability Resources
    • Personal Profitability Bootcamp
    • Create Your Website in 5 Minutes!
  • Income Reports
  • Contact / Hire Me

Generic Drugs Work Just As Well

Last Updated March 21, 2018 by Eric Rosenberg Leave a Comment

Advertising disclosure: This article may contain affiliate links. If you sign up for an offer through such a link, the owner of this site receives a referral fee and is forever grateful for your support.

Share
+1
Tweet
Share
Pin
Reddit
Flip
Buffer
Pocket
Email

Many people have a perception that generics do not work as well as the name brand. That is simply not the case. Also, it can be a costly assumption to have.
There are two types of generic drugs, over the counter (OTC) and prescription. Often, our insurance company or pharmacist will choose a generic for us when we fill a prescription, though not always. It is important to ask at the pharmacy. Under my insurance plan, generics cost $10 while name brands are $30.
OTC, we get a choice between name brands like Tylenol and store brands that say “acetaminophen”. If you look at the active ingredients on a Tylenol box, you will see “acetaminophen”. Advil is really just ibuprofen. The same goes for cold medicines like NyQuil, allergy medicines like Claritin (loratadine) and Sudafed (suphedrine), and every other OTC on the shelf. They are the exact same thing, usually to the same measured specifications.
Don't just take my word for it, Dr. Melissa Stoppler at medicinenet.com says:

Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage,
intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and
strength as the original drug. In other words, their pharmacological effects are
exactly the same as those of their brand-name counterparts.

Why are they cheaper? The company that does the research and development for a new medication gets a trademark (name) and patent (drug makeup) for a certain length of time depending on certain factors. Once that time is up, other companies can market the same drug under a different name. That saves them tons of money on R&D, so they can sell it for less.
Generics are made by major companies under the same strict safety standards of the name brand. While labels may say Target, Walmart, CVS, or Rite Aid brand, most are made by the same group of companies such as Teva Pharmaceuticals or Mylan Inc.
To sum it up, don't be stupid. They are the same thing. Save the money. Buy generic whenever possible.

Get the FREE Personal Profitability Playbook

Thepersonalprofitabilityplaybooksmall

Earn more, spend thoughtfully, grow your wealth, and live a better life through mindful personal finance.

Success! Now check your email to download your free copy of the Personal Profitability Playbook.

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

We won't send you spam. Promise. Unsubscribe at any time. Powered by ConvertKit
Share
+1
Tweet
Share
Pin
Reddit
Flip
Buffer
Pocket
Email

Related

Filed Under: Budgeting

Eric Rosenberg

Eric is the founder and editor of Personal Profitability. He left his corporate finance job in 2016 to take his online side hustle full-time and now earns a six-figure online income.

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Footer

Get the free Personal Profitability Playbook Instantly

Enter your first name and email address to get your free download and join the Personal Profitability Community.

© Copyright 2008-2018 Narrow Bridge Media, Inc. · All Rights Reserved · A Narrow Bridge Media Design