✍ Scribed by Günter Borchert
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
Pharmaceutical drugs are a special product because of the risks attached to their uninformed use. For this reason, drug advertising, in particular TV advertising, becomes a consumer policy issue. In West Germany, it is legally regulated. An empirical study by M6ckel reported upon in the paper shows that there are many contraventions of these regulations. The author discusses the causes of this, and concludes that TV advertising for drugs should be forbidden.
According to medical experts, particular risks are connected with the consumption of pharmaceutical drugs. The main risks are:
Negative side effects of drugs, which are not offset by their therapeutic value. Examples are the use of drugs without specific indication and the disregard for synergetic effects when taken together with other drugs or foodstuffs.
Too much belief in O T C drugs, delaying consultation with a doctor, hence prolonging the illness. An economic risk is also involved here: that of spending money on drugs that provide no benefit or cost too much.
In my personal opinion, there is also an additional, cultural risk in industrialized countries. We seemingly misunderstand the progress of medical science, and think that medicines can help us to live without stress and discomfort. Pills, however, cannot be the solution when one feels weak or has domestic problems. Too much food, too little exercise, fun, or success, all this can make us ill. Taking pills does not help, changing one's lifestyle may. The "cultural" risk involved in drug use is that we omit to make these lifestyle changes.
It is not to be denied, of course, that drug therapy can be very valuable to us and that often benefits exceed risks. But in order to lessen the risks, we have to deal with drugs in a rational manner.
As with other potentially hazardous products, precise information is essential for the correct use of drugs. The specific situation of the user --a lay person, often in a state of helplessness --requires that specific information be provided. Experts have to provide this information to the consumer.
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