[e-drug] Medicines advertising on TV (cont)

["Dr.L.Offerhaus" <lo@euronet.nl>]

E-drug: Medicines advertising on TV (cont)
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Dear Martin,

Your medical education is up-to-date, but your political education is not. Such
drugs are now called "comfort drugs". According to yesterday's NRC-
Handelsblad the new minister of health in Holland (from the new right-wing
Fortuyn party) has just decreed that advertising prescription drugs to the
general public (as in NZ and the USA) will in the future be allowed, thereby
turning Dutch policy 180 degree around, and anticipating similar EU
regulations. Government supervision has been abolished, the inspection
department concerned has been closed down, and checks are left to an
industry council. It is not clear who will bear the expected increase of
app.20% of the cost of drugs in health insurance systems. So everything you
might have read in last week's report by Tony Sheldon in the BMJ is now out
of date. I do not make any conclusions about what Revue Prescrire has
called "the disastrous American experience". Let's wait and see.
I hope that this is useful information.

Best wishes,

Dr.L.Offerhaus
Koedijklaan 1a
NL-1406 KW Bussum
The Netherlands
Phone +31-35-6923288 Fax +31-35-6923277
"Dr.L.Offerhaus" <lo@euronet.nl>
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