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#281963 - 25/05/2006 02:07 Re: Patriot Act & Tylenol [Re: tanstaafl.]
DWallach
carpal tunnel

Registered: 30/04/2000
Posts: 3810
Quote:
Oh... so that's why heroin is no longer available in the larger cities.

Or, more specifically, it's relatively hard to abuse commercial opiates. Codeine cough syrup, at one point, was the drug abuse target of choice in and around Houston, leading to screw tapes, where they slowed down and otherwise distorted music in a way that apparently jives well with the opiated mind...

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#281964 - 25/05/2006 13:47 Re: Patriot Act & Tylenol [Re: DWallach]
wfaulk
carpal tunnel

Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
Quote:
We took Vioxx off the market because a small number of people had serious complications, despite the large number of people who were happily using it.

That's true, but the complications weren't due to misuse and it was impossible to find the subset of people who would get those complications.

In addition, comparing prescription drugs to recreational drugs isn't a very good path. After all, alcohol can cause lightheadedness, reduced motor function, liver dysfunction, and death in everyone, not just a subset, and it's still legal. In fact, some of those "side effects" are the reason it's ingested in the first place. For that matter, peanuts can cause serious complications in a subset of people, but they're not restricted. That's because alcohol and peanuts are effectively both recreational. (I know the peanut thing is a stretch, but you get my meaning.)

Quote:
the criminal element would disappear (which appears to have worked with alcohol, but it's less clear that it's worked with gambling)

Yes, but gambling is an incredibly easy way to launder large sums of cash, whereas alcohol sales are not, nor would sales of other products, including meth, be.

Quote:
Who would be willing to take on the liability and lawsuits that would result?

Are there lawsuits against Pernod Ricard now? I don't think so, but I could be wrong. Of course, there are lawsuits against tobacco manufacturers. What's the difference there?
_________________________
Bitt Faulk

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#281965 - 25/05/2006 22:36 Re: Patriot Act & Tylenol [Re: DWallach]
tanstaafl.
carpal tunnel

Registered: 08/07/1999
Posts: 5546
Loc: Ajijic, Mexico
If the harm caused by the drug [Vioxx] (legal or otherwise) outweighs any benefit from having the drug on the market, then you have a legitimate public health policy reason for taking the drug off the market.

Ah, but here is a slippery slope, indeed.

All drugs carry the risk of adverse side effects, and determining the risk/benefit ratio can be tricky.

I am personally well acquainted with an individual who suffers from osteoarthritis, and she is quite definitive when it comes to quality of life vs. longevity issues. She would accept the <1% risk in a heartbeat (pun intended) rather than suffer the pain, immobility, and loss of quality of life caused by the disease. There are less effective alternatives to Vioxx, but if they prove unsatisfactory I would say the chances are high that she will die sooner than would have been the case with a possibly Vioxx-induced heart attack.

In the case of this particular drug, I feel that the benefits do outweight the potential for harm, if the user is made aware of the risks and is allowed to make his own decision. Unfortunately, due to our over-protective nanny-government, that option is no longer available.

tanstaafl.
_________________________
"There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch"

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