The business of selling sickness

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Sat, 15 Apr 2006 13:54:03 -0400

[sSRI-Research] Chicago Tribune: The business of selling sickness

Sat, Apr. 15, 2006

 

 

 

The business of selling sickness

 

By JULIE DEARDORFF

Chicago Tribune

 

http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/living/health/14350095.htm?sour\

ce==rss & channel==montereyherald_health

 

I promised my husband I'd help with the spring cleaning today, but

instead I'm relaxing on the sofa and leafing through the latest issue

of US Weekly magazine.

 

Some would call this laziness. Others -- specifically, a group of

Australian scientists at the University of Newcastle -- might diagnose

me with motivational deficiency disorder (MoDeD), a new medical

condition that can require treatment.

 

The disorder, which affects up to one in five Australians (U.S. stats

were unavailable), is characterized by overwhelming and debilitating

apathy. " In severe cases, it can be fatal because the condition

reduces the motivation to breathe, " wrote journalist Ray Moynihan in

the April 1 British Medical Journal.

 

But as luck would have it, there's an effective drug called Indolebant

on the horizon, according to lead researcher Leth Argos, an adviser to

the small biotech company that is developing the drug, the article said.

 

Incredulous, I called the University of Newcastle, looking for Leth

Argos. I Googled both " Indolebant " and the biotech company that

developed it. Nothing.

 

Finally, suspecting I'd been had, I e-mailed David Henry, professor of

clinical pharmacology at Newcastle University, who was quoted in the

BMJ article. He also happens to be organizing this week's Inaugural

Conference on Disease Mongering (www.diseasemongering.org), or the

practice of turning ordinary life and behavior into medical illness to

expand the market for drugs and other products.

 

Motivational deficiency disorder " is a complete fabrication, " Henry

confirmed. " We wanted to show that it is easy to talk up a disorder.

Using authoritative sources, you can make it all sound very plausible. "

 

At next week's conference, Henry and other speakers will discuss how

the world's largest drug companies " brand " conditions just as they

" brand " medicines by using three main strategies: giving a

little-known condition new attention, renaming an existing disease or

creating a whole new illness.

 

Identifying a disease does have its benefits. Some physicians say the

simple act of giving a name to symptoms brings relief and empowers a

patient. It's also important to raise public awareness about

undertreated illnesses. Drug companies do provide essential medications.

What often happens is that a drug company seizes on a little-known

condition and hires a public relations firm to hype both the " disease "

and its miracle drug.

 

Few people had ever heard of social anxiety disorder until Roche began

promoting its antidepressant Aurorix as a treatment for it in 1997.

Press material called social phobia a " soul-destroying condition " and

exaggerated the number of people who had it. Later, the campaign was

singled out by Pharmaceutical Marketing's practice guide as a positive

example of " drug marketing shaping medical and public opinion about a

disease, " according to " Selling Sickness: The Pharmaceutical Industry

and Disease Mongering, " a 2002 BMJ report by Henry, Moynihan and Iona

Heath.

 

Another strategy is to turn normal aging processes, such as balding,

into a medical problem. When Merck's hair-growth drug Propecia was

first approved in Australia, newspapers featured stories that cited

data about the emotional trauma associated with hair loss. The

International Hair Study Institute suggested that losing hair could

lead to panic and other emotional difficulties and even have an impact

on job prospects.

 

The article didn't reveal that the study and the International Hair

Study Institute were both funded by Merck. The quoted " experts " were

supplied by Edelman Public Relations, according to " Selling Sickness. "

 

Men have a right to know about hair-loss options. Those with severe

cases of anxiety should be aware of available treatments.

 

But balding and shyness often do not require medical treatment. And

aging is not a disease. Disease mongering exaggerates symptoms and

plants unnecessary concerns in healthy people. It also pushes

pharmacological solutions, overshadowing the treatments that should

always be tried first: diet and exercise.

 

 

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