Ask your doctor if death is right for you?
A News of the Day release by the Association of American Physicians and
Surgeons, Inc. on Jan. 20, 2006, reported that the Supreme Court limited
federal interference in medical decision-making. In upholding the Oregon
physician-assisted suicide law in a 6-3 decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy
wrote the majority opinion for the Supreme Court.
To be or not to be — or to seek or not to seek assisted suicide — is a
decision that is up to you.
What we want to discuss this week is how the recent Supreme Court decision
on suicide might affect drug ads. Will the rampant, out of control direct
marketing of medications to patients and physicians via television, radio,
newspapers, magazines and journals push the envelope even further?
A recent editorial in The Journal of the American Medical Association, Jan.
25, notes that the pharmaceutical industry spends 21 billion dollars a year
on direct marketing.
With both the drug companies and media gone wild, a total lack of ethics
and morals in our once valued professions, plus greed and corruption
amongst many of our industry leaders, what will the divine TV ads of the
future look like?
"Ask your doctor if suicide is right for you," branding commercials may
become daily and nightly occurrences. These could be in reference to not
taking or taking your anti-depressant or other psycho-pharmaceutical
medications. Now this in itself wouldn't be so unhealthy. But considering
the recent Supreme Court decision to allow assisted suicide — will the drug
companies develop a whole new line of suicide medications?
Research and development moneys could pour in to develop drugs that kill
faster, better, smoother, easier, more comfortably and with fewer side
affects.
The delivery systems could be refined from intravenous to intramuscular to
oral ingestion to easily applied skin patch. Different doses for different
sized folks could be evaluated. After all, the industry would want to
eliminate waste of medication from overkill.
In a related issue in this country, whenever there is a criminal execution,
one of the concerns of the anti-death penalty crowd is that the medications
are not FDA approved.
Lawsuits are filed because the hazards, risks and side affects are not
known and could include not dying. Likewise, there have been concerns over
use of needles that are not sterile. Infection can make suicide dangerous.
With the new "assisted suicide" laws in Oregon - which will promptly spread
to other states — pharmaceutical companies might be willing to invest the
time and money to do studies and obtain FDA approval.
Initially the assassination medications would be available by prescription
only with dosing limited to licensed trained physicians. With time, after
proven successful executions, and when existing patents run out, generic
meds will become available at a lower price.
Some states or individuals may prefer to import them from Canada to save a
few bucks. That of course raises the customary risks of expired, repackaged
or counterfeit drugs. Individuals with Medicare may find the medication not
covered under Plan D. Those without Plan D may find the meds too expensive.
Today cars and tour buses already pack the Interstate 5 at Vancouver in
both directions. The Americans are going north for medications and the
Canadians are going south for care. Canadians coming here for suicide will
need to know how soon they will be allowed to return home.
But have no fear. In a decade or so the safe and effective medications
could be sold over the counter at lower doses and lower prices and they
could be self administered.
Imagine some of the catchy drug names the marketing folks might invent like
EuthaMed, Fastasia, FastMed, Fantasia, HeavenWon'tWait, DeathDesire,
WeWon'tWait (W.W.W.), and HeavenScent.
Then look for the splashy tasteless direct drug ads:
- Sleep softly with SoftTrac. Comes with a free CD of love songs along the
coast.
- For the best in Euthanasia ask your doctor about EuthWish. Now in easy
opening rainbow packages.
- If you truly love your dying wife try SpouseLSleep. Now in gentle patch
formula.
Don't laugh. A decade ago who ever thought there would be the tasteless
erectile dysfunction ads for Viagra, Levitra or Cialis in order to hasten a
firm quality experience or weekend orgy.
However, there may be a silver lining in all this nonsense. As noted by
AAPS on Jan. 20, those who are concerned about overzealous prosecution of
physicians who prescribe opioids (and other legal prescription medications)
for pain relief believe that this Oregon ruling may help to rein in overly
aggressive U.S. Attorneys.
It is one of the great idiosyncrasies of American life 2006 that our system
will allow euthanasia but will incarcerate a physician for treating pain
with legal medications.
But should your physician be allowed to prescribe legal pain meds without
fear of going to jail, sometime soon, maybe 50,000,000 of you won't suffer
— like you do now — and thereby eliminate the need to ask your doctor "if
death and suicide is right for you."
Editor's Note:: Michael Arnold Glueck. M.D., wrote this week's satire on the
drug industry
