If the Pill Fits, Eat It
The volume of pharmaceutical advertising is breaking records, which is good. The bad thing is that the unhealthy advertising market provokes self-medication and promotes low-quality medicines to the weak-minded
The co-owner of Darnitsa Glib Zagoriy bought medicines for two symbolic medicine chests at a Kyiv pharmacy. One of them was made up of highly advertised imported medicines. The second one was made up of domestic analogues. The latter was four times cheaper and, according to Zagoriy, by no means worse than the imported one. This is an important conclusion also shared by the CEO of Darnitsa Svitlana Didenko. "The principle "only high price delivers high quality" does not work today," she notes.
In addition, Ukraine often advertises medicines without proven efficacy, which, nonetheless, are officially registered. "Remember the advertisement for yogurt that was supposed to protect against flu? It was banned in France, and in Germany it even received the negative award," Fedor Lapii, the Chief Immunologist of Kyiv, cites the example. "I can't understand why they were registered, but it's a disaster."
Viktor Chumak, the Vice-President of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine in Medical and Microbiological Industry, obtained from the same source another example of an advertising trick used to promote products, which are in fact neither medicine nor food, for example, additives or curative cosmetics. "Previously, they were controlled by the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, but now, after its liquidation, no one controls them," the expert states.
Television, or rather TV advertising, however, more convincingly lures consumers to expensive medicines, often with a dubious reputation. This story has a bad ending, since self-medication and self-diagnosis become an epidemic in our country — sometimes with hysterical counterattacks.
In addition, Ukraine often advertises medicines without proven efficacy, which, nonetheless, are officially registered. "Remember the advertisement for yogurt that was supposed to protect against flu? It was banned in France, and in Germany it even received the negative award," Fedor Lapii, the Chief Immunologist of Kyiv, cites the example. "I can't understand why they were registered, but it's a disaster."
Viktor Chumak, the Vice-President of the Federation of Employers of Ukraine in Medical and Microbiological Industry, obtained from the same source another example of an advertising trick used to promote products, which are in fact neither medicine nor food, for example, additives or curative cosmetics. "Previously, they were controlled by the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, but now, after its liquidation, no one controls them," the expert states.
Television, or rather TV advertising, however, more convincingly lures consumers to expensive medicines, often with a dubious reputation. This story has a bad ending, since self-medication and self-diagnosis become an epidemic in our country — sometimes with hysterical counterattacks.
I Can Cure Myself
It is a quiet street in Darnytsia district — the old bedroom district of Kyiv on the left bank of the Dnieper. Recently quite an incident happened there. In any way, for a local pharmacist this was an unusual case. A woman wanted to buy birth control pills for her 12-year-old daughter. The medicine was needed to delay the period: the girl had to participate in sports competitions.
The pharmacist began explaining that he could not give hormone medicines for a child without prescription. They can harm the immature organism. But it was in vain. "The woman began shouting and threatening," the NV talker says. "She bombarded all kinds of officials with complaints."
The pharmacist is still under the strong impression of this she-devil, and even asked not to mention his name or pharmacy address in the press, just in case.
The weak point of this story is that the pharmacist acted at his own risk and peril: there are no clearly defined protocols regarding what and how you are allowed to sell. It was a professional rush based on the sheer enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, the sheer enthusiasm gives way to pressure of the powerful advertising attack from all media guns. Alas, self-medication is the principal harm from TV advertising. The active development of TV advertising against the background of longstanding unsuccessful attempts to reform the healthcare has led to the fact that a TV set has not only replaced nature, but also a family doctor.
Iryna Sysoienko, the Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Health Committee, asserts that the situation with self-medication is at a critical level. "Medicine advertising should be limited," she says straight from her shoulder. "I'm sure this will benefit the patient above all."
There are no simple solutions. Both doctors and advertising experts agree that banning medicine advertising will not help. "If you remove the advertising of pharmaceuticals, you can forget about modern films or talk shows," says Maksym Lazebnyk, the Executive Director of the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition. "We will watch Brazilian TV shows of the 80s."
The expert admits that in Europe the number of over-the-counter medicines is significantly less than in Ukraine. Accordingly, pharmacists do not need to spend money on TV advertising. "Just vitamins and patches remain on the air," concludes the advertising expert.
In November 2017, the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting created the working group, which also involved the experts from the Ministry of Health, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, and the State Service on Medicines and Drugs Control. Its goal is to strengthen the quality control of medicine advertising.
In the scientific world, such a phenomenon is called polypharmacy, and this problem of Ukrainian medicine is as acute as self-medication. Moreover, sometimes doctors are driven not by illiteracy, but profit. "Doctors prescribe at least five medicines, or even eight or nine," Viktor Chumak says. "They have medicines in their offices brought by firms who promised 10% of the proceeds." This is a common practice."
The pharmacist began explaining that he could not give hormone medicines for a child without prescription. They can harm the immature organism. But it was in vain. "The woman began shouting and threatening," the NV talker says. "She bombarded all kinds of officials with complaints."
The pharmacist is still under the strong impression of this she-devil, and even asked not to mention his name or pharmacy address in the press, just in case.
The weak point of this story is that the pharmacist acted at his own risk and peril: there are no clearly defined protocols regarding what and how you are allowed to sell. It was a professional rush based on the sheer enthusiasm.
Nevertheless, the sheer enthusiasm gives way to pressure of the powerful advertising attack from all media guns. Alas, self-medication is the principal harm from TV advertising. The active development of TV advertising against the background of longstanding unsuccessful attempts to reform the healthcare has led to the fact that a TV set has not only replaced nature, but also a family doctor.
Iryna Sysoienko, the Deputy Head of the Parliamentary Health Committee, asserts that the situation with self-medication is at a critical level. "Medicine advertising should be limited," she says straight from her shoulder. "I'm sure this will benefit the patient above all."
There are no simple solutions. Both doctors and advertising experts agree that banning medicine advertising will not help. "If you remove the advertising of pharmaceuticals, you can forget about modern films or talk shows," says Maksym Lazebnyk, the Executive Director of the All-Ukrainian Advertising Coalition. "We will watch Brazilian TV shows of the 80s."
The expert admits that in Europe the number of over-the-counter medicines is significantly less than in Ukraine. Accordingly, pharmacists do not need to spend money on TV advertising. "Just vitamins and patches remain on the air," concludes the advertising expert.
In November 2017, the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting created the working group, which also involved the experts from the Ministry of Health, the State Service for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, and the State Service on Medicines and Drugs Control. Its goal is to strengthen the quality control of medicine advertising.
In the scientific world, such a phenomenon is called polypharmacy, and this problem of Ukrainian medicine is as acute as self-medication. Moreover, sometimes doctors are driven not by illiteracy, but profit. "Doctors prescribe at least five medicines, or even eight or nine," Viktor Chumak says. "They have medicines in their offices brought by firms who promised 10% of the proceeds." This is a common practice."
To The Ounce
As mentioned in the popular Soviet blockbuster, "if someone somewhere sometimes does not want to live honestly," the practice of dishonest doctors should be stopped by the medical reform. This is when the patient gets the right to choose a family doctor and enter into a contract with a professional who wants to live paycheck to paycheck, and not polypharmacy to polypharmacy.
The doctor's income depends on the number of grateful, healthy, or at least alive patients who are ready to sign and extend service contracts for the whole family. In theory, this will reduce the dependence of doctors on med-reps of pharmaceutical companies. Ukraine has rarely put perfect reforms in place. Yet even small attempts in this direction can be significant.
"Another gap in the nation's health is pharmacies. There are a lot of them. When the country has a normal medical industry, it simply does not need to have so many pharmacies, as Ukraine currently has," says Yevhenii Komarovskyi, the Candidate of Medicine and well-known TV presenter. He recalls the creative contest he held on his Instagram page. He asked his followers to send a photo of the house with the maximum number of pharmacies.
Someone found a house in Dnipro with seven pharmacies. Five or six pharmacies in the house are incredibly high. What is wrong with that? The explanatory note to the Draft Law No. 8591 amending the Law of Ukraine "On Medicinal Products" answers the question.
In 2015-16, the tendency towards consolidation emerged. Large pharmacy chains are tending to monopolise the market. Monopoly is a direct path to higher prices. "Our legislative initiative is aimed at eliminating the monopoly of pharmacy chains," explains Sysoienko, one of the co-authors of the draft. "We have to form health facilities, not outlets as they are now."
If the Parliament succeeds in passing the bill, Dr Komarovskyi will never again receive photos for his creative Instagram contest, since the minimum distance between two neighbouring pharmacies should be at least 500m in a straight line.
In addition, restrictions on the maximum number of pharmacies owned by one person will enter into force. Individual entrepreneurs will be allowed to own only one pharmacy, legal entities — up to eight, depending on the characteristics of facilities. Even more, pharmacy staff will need to have a diploma of higher field-specific education. "There should be a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine," Komarovskyi said, "where business sharks and representatives of the Ministry of Health get together to work out the rules of the game. In the meantime, everyone has a single goal — to earn to the full."
The doctor's income depends on the number of grateful, healthy, or at least alive patients who are ready to sign and extend service contracts for the whole family. In theory, this will reduce the dependence of doctors on med-reps of pharmaceutical companies. Ukraine has rarely put perfect reforms in place. Yet even small attempts in this direction can be significant.
"Another gap in the nation's health is pharmacies. There are a lot of them. When the country has a normal medical industry, it simply does not need to have so many pharmacies, as Ukraine currently has," says Yevhenii Komarovskyi, the Candidate of Medicine and well-known TV presenter. He recalls the creative contest he held on his Instagram page. He asked his followers to send a photo of the house with the maximum number of pharmacies.
Someone found a house in Dnipro with seven pharmacies. Five or six pharmacies in the house are incredibly high. What is wrong with that? The explanatory note to the Draft Law No. 8591 amending the Law of Ukraine "On Medicinal Products" answers the question.
In 2015-16, the tendency towards consolidation emerged. Large pharmacy chains are tending to monopolise the market. Monopoly is a direct path to higher prices. "Our legislative initiative is aimed at eliminating the monopoly of pharmacy chains," explains Sysoienko, one of the co-authors of the draft. "We have to form health facilities, not outlets as they are now."
If the Parliament succeeds in passing the bill, Dr Komarovskyi will never again receive photos for his creative Instagram contest, since the minimum distance between two neighbouring pharmacies should be at least 500m in a straight line.
In addition, restrictions on the maximum number of pharmacies owned by one person will enter into force. Individual entrepreneurs will be allowed to own only one pharmacy, legal entities — up to eight, depending on the characteristics of facilities. Even more, pharmacy staff will need to have a diploma of higher field-specific education. "There should be a meeting of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine," Komarovskyi said, "where business sharks and representatives of the Ministry of Health get together to work out the rules of the game. In the meantime, everyone has a single goal — to earn to the full."