[모임공지] 11월 22 일 Topic 2 - Aspirin Might be a Wonder Drug, But No One Will Pay to Prove it

[Ted - SG]

Topic 2 - Aspirin Might be a Wonder Drug, But No One Will Pay to Prove it

Aspirin could be one of the most beneficial drugs ever invented, but we may never know its true value because no one stands to profit from finding out.

Aside from its well known use as pain relief, studies have suggested that aspirin could be used in the treatment or prevention of conditions such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, dementia, depression, infertility, and others.

A recent study from the University of Southern California found that if every high-risk American over the age of 50 took a single low dose of aspirin per day, it would lengthen and improve the quality of their lives, add 900,000 people to the population, and decrease health-care costs by $692 billion by 2036.

A crude form of aspirin derived from willow bark has been in use as a medicine for over 2,000 years.

Its modern form was first synthesized in 1853 by Charles Frederic Gerhardt. By 1899 the German company, Bayer, had improved processes to manufacture the drug and released it to the global market under the name 'aspirin' as a treatment for fever, pain, and inflammation.

Because aspirin was one of the first modern-day drugs to ever be marketed, its patent has long since expired. As a result, there is no financial incentive for a large company like Bayer to invest the huge sums of money required to study the effects of aspirin more closely.

While many studies have shown a correlation between a regular dose of aspirin and improved health, much more in-depth research is needed to identify the specific nature of the drug's benefits and how they work. Like all drugs, aspirin can also have negative side-effects and should not be taken by everyone. Further research could help doctors determine whether or not aspirin would help or hurt their patients.

Drug companies mainly focus on developing new medicines which offer the greatest financial return. As a result, the benefits of drugs we have already developed may continue to go unknown unless a clear financial incentive for more research can be found.

Questions

1. What are your thoughts on the potential health benefits of aspirin?

2. Do you find it strange that a drug that has been used for over 2,000 years has not yet been studied extensively?

3. Are you surprised that pharmaceutical companies are not willing to invest in studying aspirin given its potential health benefits? 

4. Do you think that governments should be responsible for funding this research given that it could significantly reduce health-care costs?

5. Do you predict that aspirin will be studied more thoroughly in the near future?

6. Is alternative medicine popular in your country? Why do you think this is the case?

7. Are pharmaceutical companies allowed to advertise on TV in your country? Do you see this as a good thing?

8. Would you say that pharmaceutical companies always work in the best interest of consumers?

9. Are you of the opinion that research into the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical products should not be conducted by drug companies?

10. Pharmaceutical companies have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in new HIV/AIDS treatments not out of altruism but because they can make up those research costs in sales. - David Mixner. Do you believe that all pharmaceutical companies are profit-driven?

11. Politics, like insurance, security, pharmaceutical and religious institutions all work the same. They sell the idea of a threat along with the antidote. Marketing 101. - Tarryn Tomlinson. What are your thoughts on this idea?

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