A Century Ago, the Average U

A century ago, the average U.S. citizen lived to be 48. Now we live to an average age of 76-thanks in large part to medical research. Pharmaceutical companies do an excellent job in research, and they increased their research spending from $2 billion in 1980 to $20 billion in 1998. But we can't rely on them for basic research efforts. That's why funding for the National Institutes of Health, which does basic research that can benefit us all, is so important. Its funding has doubled in the last 15 years-to $15 billion. But while $15 billion is a sizable sum, it is inadequate when compared to what we spend on legalized gambling ($638 billion), alcohol ($95 billion), and cigarettes ($50 billion). Two-thirds of Americans agree that funding for medical research should be doubled, according to a poll taken recently by the nonprofit advocacy group Research! America.
-Paul Simon
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