Reductil and other weight control drugs

Weight control drugs like Reductil are prescription drugs. Drugs are for illness and originally weight control drugs are for obese people who may suffer from health problems like diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and so on, due to over-weight. Is it ethical to promote this kind of drugs for slimming and beauty ? Exercising combined with dietary control is the most healthy way to lose weight but the consumer demand for "effortless" weight control is so big. This kind of weight control drugs represents juicy profits for doctors and pharmacies. Doctors make profits prescribing them and pharmacies makes profits selling them to consumers, with or even without prescriptions. Misuse of any drug is hazardous to health. Drug manufacturers are putting marketing efforts directly or indirectly fueling this. It's not only gaming marketing that touches on the issue of ethics. Drug marketing also.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Just passer-by.

It has always been a critical issue and very misleading marketing. Actually, the consumers simply seriously under-estimate the RISKs. This type of drugs is a VERY effective way to shorten the user's lifespan.

An ethical physician should know this very well. The marketing guys either know it (that I doubt) or choose to remain ignorant and hence conscientiousless.

Money rules.
1:47 pm
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