When we think of economics, we’re usually thinking of how it applies to our lives and our world, but we rarely look outside our own passive bubble to see the global economy, unless it’s concerning us. Most people haven’t even heard of traditional Chinese medicine, but it is practiced in variations around the entire globe and has been integrated into hospitals just about everywhere except the U.S. My own mother has one of her many degrees in Chinese medicine, so it was something I grew up around my whole life. Traditional Chinese medicine covers a wide scope of practices: acupuncture, herbal remedies, cupping, guasha, moxa, acupressure, etc. It’s hardly a simple task to learn in just a few minutes, days, or weeks and is more effective than people give it credit for.
Herbal remedies are a giant market around the world: herbs are used to treat anything from dry skin to fighting off the flu. Herbs are usually more effective for the consumer when prescribed by a practitioner of Chinese medicine and their treatment is designed specifically to treat them rather than treating the symptoms they are showing. According to economist.com, Americans are the biggest potential market: our consumption of Chinese medicines has been growing by 25 percent a year since the late 1990’s, precisely when they began to open medical colleges to teach traditional and integrative Chinese medicine. But the United States and some parts of Europe to not consider Chinese medicine to actually work and claiming that Western medicine is the best approach to treat people’s illnesses. However, truly, a blending of Eastern and Western medicine actually treats the best--herbals can’t cure everything but neither can antibiotics and vaccines, and herbals have less risk factors to them because they are natural substances that have been studied for thousands of years. But most people are only looking to rid of their symptoms quickly, so they turned to the patented drugs that will zip those symptoms away but hardly treat the real cause of those symptoms.
In America, the best way to learn about Chinese medicine and its practices is by word of mouth, however, if you look to China and Germany, where the medicine is practiced, they bring in the most profit; at about $23 billion over the past eight years with China’s aging population and Germany’s acceptance and integrative medicine practices. In total, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) brings in a net profit of nearly $60 billion dollars just in the mainland of China and Hong Kong alone, according to aeon.com’s magazine article, Do Some Harm. The article also mentions that approximately 12 percent of national health care services are provided by TCM facilities, although that figure includes conventional medicine done at TCM institutions worldwide. It is certainly difficult to fund these institutions and this type of medicine when people don’t bother looking into it, whether that be because they want the quick effects of chemical drugs or they have irrational fears. I often mention to people that I’ve had acupuncture done to me and people constantly tend
to freak out that I let a needle inside me. In reality, acupuncture is practically painless, incredibly relaxing, useful and effective, and it can help in recovery from allergic reactions, to asthma, to the recovery of cancer and stroke patients. One would think that such recoveries would be accepted world-wide, however Western physicians are now trying to integrate Eastern medicine into their practices, but they are not getting the proper education in order to be able to practice it.In conclusion, while traditional Chinese medicine/Eastern medicine is being more widely accepted, it still has potential to expand, but the market is a very fragile one and just one slip up could cause this incredible practice to have a damaged reputation and a limited market of consumers.
Works Cited
"Potions and Profits." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 25 July 2002. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Palmer, James. "Do Some Harm." Aeon Magazine. Aeon Magazine, 13 June 2013. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
"Health Economics." Healtheconomics. National Institute of Health (NIH), n.d. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Pictures
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/ChineseMedicine-HK.JPG
http://www.blackwomenshealth.com/site_media/uploads/article_pictures/acupuncture.j
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Sage, I'm really glad you did this post because I had no idea how helpful Chinese medicine could be! It also amazes me how big the market is for the products, even in America and Europe, and the $23 billion income is huge. Even though TCM has the greatest income and popularity in China and Hong Kong, I'm glad to see that it is spreading and increasing it's market. Thank you for writing this!
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting topic to read. I like how you put your experience into this post, making it seem more real. It was quite interesting to learn how Chinese medicine is really helpful and a good alternative for minor problems instead of going to the doctor. Also very astonishing how TCM rakes in billions of dollars, although it's mainly concentrated in Asia and Europe I really do hope it becomes more popular here in America. I'll have to try some of the Chinese remedies. Good post Sage!
ReplyDeleteI like this topic because I have always wanted to try acupuncture. I have been told it is very relaxing and more effective then some western medicine. I had no idea that there was such a huge market for it. I wish you could have gone into more details about the other kinds of western medicine, since I think a lot of people think of acupuncture when talking about Traditional Medicine. Now that I am 18 maybe I should try it out!
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