[e-drug] please be a little moderate....

e-drug
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E-DRUG: please be a little moderate....
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Hello there,

It is very important but highly frustrating reading the emails for the past months on this mailing list.

"Celecoxib warning in Turkey" , "Unethical marketing" , "Bextra will be banned", this drug is not this and that.......

There is absolutely no man made drug that would not kill one person out of 5+ billion persons due to some kind of allergic or other adverse effects.

The medical companies in various countries are masterminded by government laws and rules. The day-to-day situation is thus what it is.

If there will be a change in these things it has to be by the governments and only by the governments, i.e. us the people who elect these guys, who set the rules and boundaries to work in, in democratic countries anyway.

If we start banning all medicines that have adverse effects on somebody somewhere, why don’t you start banning ASPIRIN i.e. acetosalicylicacid. That drug has caused more deaths and misery worldwide than all the modern drugs together. I strongly believe that if ASPIRIN would hit the market as a new drug today it would be banned in less than 3 months.

Please be a little moderate and see the whole picture!

I have never and will never prescribe a drug because of given lunches, travels or whatever the medical companies try to buy one out, and believe me they try! I feel that those who do are poor suckers! I always look what is best for my patients in the acute or chronic disease and choose a drug that I believe in and has been shown to have good effects on that disease.

PS Bextra is an excellent drug as is Arcoxia and Celebra as well, for those who need it! Also there was nothing bad to say about Vioxx in my region, and Nimed, which was banned for some time but is back on the European market again!

Bernhard Edgren
General Practitioner, medicine.
Finland.
be@triuno.com

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E-DRUG: please be a little moderate....(5)
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Dear E-druggers,

There is no doubt that Dr. Edgren makes some very valid points. I think we
are all aware that many doctors do manage to avoid the temptations of a
'free lunch'. But the fact that it is still standard practice for the
pharmaceutical companies to offer such incentives suggests that, at least
in many parts of the world, this is still an effective strategy.

But I think the current concern is more directly focused on other
questionable practices of these companies. All drugs are toxic to a
greater or lesser extent, and I'm sure all doctors and pharmacists explain
the potential side effects to their patients (or at least I hope I'm sure,
although I'm not sure I'm sure!).

But it seems to me we are now seeing an increasing number of cases in which the pharmaceutical companies are aware of serious toxicities, but fail to warn the medical profession of this, let alone the community.

I accept that regulation is necessary and this requires government action.

But patients, if empowered, can also play a role. We have noted, not
altogether happily, the effect that direct to consumer (DTC) advertising
has had on drug sales. Could this not be counterbalanced by DTC
advertising of the shortcomings of the drugs? No doubt there will be a
zillion reasons why this won't work. But don't let's use the old saw that
consumers won't understand. The empowerment of people with AIDS with
treatment literacy has proved that. Yes, I know informed patients are a
pain in the neck to doctors. But studies have proved they live longer!

Let's hope that patients prescribed Nimed are informed that it had been
banned, the reasons for its banning, and the reasons why this ban has been
rescinded.

Chris

Chris W. Green (chrisg@rad.net.id)
Treatment Educator, Spiritia Foundation
Jakarta, Indonesia
Tel: +62 (21) 7279 7007 Fax: +62 (21) 726-9521