The official website for the drug Olanzapine probably didn’t mention the fact it might cause diabetic symptoms in patients. Another website obviously did. Commercials on TV now are required to mention possible side effects. Should drug companies be required to come clean about situations like the one with Eli Lilly’s Olanzapine in their commercial websites? Why or why not?
I have mixed feelings here. My initial gut reply is - Yes, full disclosure. If depression medication is going to make you kill yourself or thalidomide is going to cause birth defects, I'd like to know! (And if I'm carrying children and need morning sickness medication, then I probably have another issue.)
I think it's a little deeper than just that however. Should a requirement to post potential known side effects be put into effect, it should be done only on the premise of public health interest. If this is done however, there may potentially be more requirements on other companies requiring them to site public health concerns as well. Did you know that most automobiles only have to pass a 5-mph bumper crash test to be considered to have safe bumpers?
I would think that it is common sense to wonder what the side effects are, but then again I see people get wasted off their ass every weekend, gain 40 pounds and all that mess with no regard to potential side effects. And even if we are curious, it can be difficult to track down.
I used to work in a bike shop in high school. People would come in not knowing what they are looking for with a wallet full plastic to spend. We carried bikes from 400 bucks to 12 grand. Yes, 12 zero zero zero. Now around Tour-time, people caught the bug big DC attorneys with very little free time wanted a nice bike. I often talked them out of buying the 8,000 dollar bike down to the 2500 dollar bike because I knew they wouldn't have time for it and it would be a waste. (Generally speaking, it is not possible to get a quality road bke for less than 2,000 - that is actually considered a really good price.) I wanted to make sure they knew what they were getting into. They weren't just buying a bike - they were buying shoes, helmet, glasses, jerseys, shorts, special socks even, gels, bars, oh and then there's winter stuff too!! Next comes touring, then racing, then trvelling, then more money an new stuff and another bike and so on... the main side effect however, was time. Cycling is a lifestyle, not a hobby. Its addictive and consumes your whole life and eats away your time. If I didn't tell him that, he would have found out the hard way and actually ended up disliking our store.
So in the best interest of the consumers, and for their own reputation, I think that the websites should post the common side effects. I don't think that it needs to be in bold red letter at 24 pt on the homepage, but maybe a page dedicated to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment