The United States’ leading anti-cholesterol drug, Lipitor, is now being price pressured by No. 2 Zocor, which became available in generic form in June.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, a part of Consumers Union, estimates 20 million Americans take statins and about 60 percent of people who take brand-name statin drugs — Lipitor, Zocor, Vytorin and Crestor — can safely use one of three generics, USA Today reported.

Switching to a generic drug can substantially reduce employer health benefit costs. For example, the General Motors Corp. spends $200 million annually on statins for the more than 1 million people it insures. If all of GM’s statin users switched to a generic, GM’s costs will decrease to $82 million a year, the newspaper said.

New York-based Pfizer Inc., Lipitor’s manufacturer, claims studies show Lipitor is better at lowering cholesterol and the risk of heart disease and stroke, USA Today reported, noting Consumers Union suggests Lipitor for high-risk people.

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The oldest of the nation’s 79 million baby boomers will begin turning 60 in only three months.

So the timing is right for the latest book by Andrew Weil, the Tucson physician known for his pioneering work integrating Eastern and Western approaches to medicine. Weil has just written his 11th book, Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being, out last week.

Weil spoke with USA TODAY’s Janet Kornblum from his Arizona desert home not only about medicine, but also about attitudes on aging.

Q: There are so many books on aging out there. Why do we need one more? And what is different about this book?
A: I found most are written from the perspective of anti-aging — and that bothers me. Aging is a natural process and inevitable. The baby boomers are soon going to be in the ranks of the oldest people. I don’t think they’re going to put up with the stereotyped roles of old people that have been held out to previous generations. It’s the right time for this book to come along.
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