In the US the number of individual prescriptions filled, rose from 2.9 billion in 1999 to 3.7 billion in 2006; in 1994, Kaiser calculated that each American filled on average 7.9 prescriptions per year; by 2005, that number had risen to 12.4. Does that mean Americans are sicker now than in 1994, or just popping more pills? And what about the adverse effects of these pills, are they creating chronic disease in previously healthy people??