Bitter Pills:Medicines & The Third World Poor | Page 233

Chapter 5
37

Noor Mohammed, op. cit.

.'S

Drs. Mehrhof and Niederehe, E. Merck, Darmstadt, West Germany, personal
communication, 29 March 1982.

39

"Merck in Bangladesh", op.cit., p. 17.

40

Ibid., p.27.

41

Ibid., p.22.

42

M.D. Rawlins, Professor of Clinical Pharmacology, Head of Department of
Pharmacological Sciences, University of Newcastle, personal communicat ion, 17 September
1981.

43

Drs. Mehrhof and Niederehe, op. cit.

44

Dr. Milton Silverman, The Druggingof the Americas, Berkeleyand Los Angeles, University
of California Press, 1976.

45

Silverman and Lydecker, in Blum, et al., op.cit., p.86.

46

Ibid.

47

Ibid., p.85.

48

Dr. Milton Silverman, personal communication, 10 August 1981.

49

The anomalies are documented in Milton Silverman, Philip Lee and Mia Lydecker,
Prescriptions for Death - the Drugging of the Third World, University of California,
Berkeley, 1982.

50

S. Redfern, Roche Products Limited, Attachment 1 "Product Information Leaflets" with
particular reference to Mogadon and Valium in Thailand, personal communication, 4
May 1982.

51

Ibid. The current Thai Valium leaflet now includes a "Tolerance " paragraph, and the
following "Precautions " : "(1) It may cause abnormality to the blood cells, liver and
kidneys. (2) It should not be used during the first trimester pregnancy. (3) It may cause
drowsiness. While taking this medicine, the patient should not drive nor operate machinery.
(4) While taking this medicine, avoid alcohol, or drink or medicine containing alcohol."
And the following warning: "It may cause habituation and be hazardous. It must be used
according to the physician's instructions."

52

-

53

Ibid., p. 356. We have no comments from Glaxo on why these leaflets were issued without
precautions on use.

54

The British National Formulary, 1981 (Volume 1) lists the following cautions for use of
the combined Oestrogen-progestogen pills: diabetes, hypertension, cardiac or renal disease,
migraine, epilepsy, depression, asthma, multiple sclerosis, wearing of contact lenses,
cigarette-smoking, obesity, and drug interactions. Contra-indications: thrombosis and
history of thrombo-embolic disease, recurrent jaundice, chronic liver disease, sickle-cell
anaemia, hyperlipidaemia, mammary or endrometrial carcinoma, severe migraine,
undiagnosed vaginal bleeding. And side-effects: nausea, vomiting, headache, breast
tenderness, changes in body weight, changes in libido, depression, chloasma, hypertension,
impairment of liver function, benign hepatic tumours, reduced menstrual loss, 'spotting'
in early cycles, amenorrhoea. (p.210).

55

Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Ministry of Health and Population
Control (Health Division) Drugs Administration, "Requirements for Registration of New

ABPI, Datasheet Compendium 1979-80, 1979 op.cit., p. 362.
G. Potter, Group Public Relations Manager, Glaxo, personal communication, 16
June 1982.

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