Re: Big Pharma
"Whereas I totally agree with you about this (I have a niece in the business), I'd be far more sympathetic to Big Pharma if they didn't spend 2/3rds of their budget on advertising, mainly about drugs for first world problems like restless legs and hair loss."
Citation needed.
Here's proof that GlaxoSmithKline spends a lot more on R&D than advertising:
Advertising spending: £1.35bn.
R&D spending: £4.48bn.
Looks to me that they spend three times as much on R&D as advertising. And of course their total expenditure is about £25bn, so it's closer to 1/20th, not 2/3rds.