Prescription medications are the third leading cause of death in the US and Europe
There are 200,000 deaths in America per year due to medications, half of these taking the drug as prescribed.
Furthermore, most people are on several medications, but these drug were tested individually. So impossible to know what their effects are when combined.
Pharmaceutical companies exert their influence not by directly paying physicians. But rather by funding the heads of medical committees that write the guidelines which doctors follow.
In my primary care practice I often stop a lot of medications, especially for my elderly patients. The results are incredible: They get sharper, happier and more mobile. They look a few years younger!
References: Our prescription drugs are killing us in large numbers