[NVIC] Diseasemongering To Boost Pharma Profits.

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NVICNews <news wrote: <news[NVIC] "Diseasemongering" To Boost ProfitsThu, 13 Apr 2006 11:56:52 -0400news (NVICNews)E-NEWS FROM THE NATIONAL VACCINE INFORMATION CENTERVienna, Virginia http://www.nvic.org* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *UNITED WAY/COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN#8122* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982." ==========================================================================================http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2128371,00.htmlThe Times, UKApril 11, 2006Drugs companies 'inventing diseases to boost their profits'By Mark Henderson, Science

CorrespondentPharmaceutical companies are systematically creating diseases in order tosell more of their products, turning healthy people into patients andplacing many at risk of harm, a special edition of a leading medical journalclaims today.The practice of “diseasemongering” by the drug industry is promotingnon-existent illnesses or exaggerating minor ones for the sake of profits,according to a set of essays published by the open-access journal PublicLibrary of Science Medicine.The special issue, edited by David Henry, of Newcastle University inAustralia, and Ray Moynihan, an Australian journalist, reports thatconditions such as female sexual dysfunction, attention deficithyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and “restless legs syndrome” have beenpromoted by companies hoping to sell more of their drugs.Other minor problems that are a normal part of life, such as symptoms of themenopause, are also

becoming increasingly “medicalised”, while risk factorssuch as high cholesterol levels or osteoporosis are being presented asdiseases in their own right, according to the editors.“Disease-mongering turns healthy people into patients, wastes preciousresources and causes iatrogenic (medically induced) harm,” they say. “Likethe marketing strategies that drive it, disease-mongering poses a globalchallenge to those interested in public health, demanding in turn a globalresponse.”Doctors, patients and support groups need to be more aware thatpharmaceutical companies are taking this approach, and more research isneeded into the changing ways in which conditions are presented, accordingto the writers.Disease-awareness campaigns are often funded by drug companies, and “moreoften designed to sell drugs than to illuminate or inform or educate aboutthe prevention of illness or the maintenance of health”, they

say.Particular conditions that are highlighted in the journal include sexualfunction in both men and women. The prevalence of female sexual dysfunction,one paper claims, has been highly exaggerated to provide a new market fordrugs, while the makers of anti-impotence medicines, such as Viagra andCialis, have been involved with their presentation as lifestyle drugs thatcan boost the sexual prowess of healthy men.Ordinary shyness is routinely presented as a social anxiety disorder andtreated with antidepressants, while newly identified conditions such as“restless legs syndrome” — a constant urge to move one’s legs — arepresented as being much more common than they really are.Richard Ley, of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry,rejected the accusations, pointing out that Britain has firm safeguardsagainst disease-mongering. Many of the authors’ criticisms, he said, wereaimed squarely at

countries such as the United States, where pharmaceuticalscan be openly advertised directly to patients.“Drug companies are not allowed to communicate directly with patients, andwe do not invent diseases,” he said.“We provide information that there are treatments out there that might helpcertain conditions, but at the end of the day it is down to healthprofessionals to decide if they are appropriate.“The best safeguard is that the doctor who knows the product and knows thepatient’s history is the one who decides what to prescribe.”=============================================News is a free service of the National Vaccine InformationCenter and is supported through membership donations. Learn more about vaccines, diseases and how to protect your informed consent rights http://www.nvic.orgBecome a member and support NVIC's workhttps://www.nvic.org/making%20cash%20donations.htmTo sign

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