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Drug, substance that affects the function of living
cells, used in medicine to diagnose, cure, prevent the occurrence
of diseases and disorders, and prolong the life of patients with
incurable conditions.
Since 1900 the availability of new and more effective drugs such
as antibiotics, which fight bacterial infections, and vaccines,
which prevent diseases caused by bacteria and viruses, has increased
the average American's life span from about 60 years to about 75
years. Drugs have vastly improved the quality of life. Today, drugs
have contributed to the eradication of once widespread and sometimes
fatal diseases such as poliomyelitis and smallpox.
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