The drug sells well in pharmacies but it also sells in bookstores. A past master in the art of associating capsules with scandals and the pharmaceutical industry with a corrupt enterprise, Professor Philippe Even is emulated.
And this morning, The Parisian presents, exclusively, a book (1) to be published this week which denounces, this time, the side effects of drugs. At the maneuver, a lawyer, Me Antoine Béguin, a seasoned journalist, Jean-Christophe Brisard, and Dr Irène Frachon who revealed the Mediator scandal in 2011.
Unlike her colleague, Professor Even, the pulmonologist from Brest appeals to reflection rather than emotion, preferring measure to insult. “Our goal, she said in an interview with the daily, is not to encourage a generalized, blind and confused distrust of the drug”. The one who paved the way for whistleblowers in the field of health proposes to enter “an era of realism and lucidity”.
In the post-war period, drugs worked miracles, as with tuberculosis. “The effects were so spectacular that we didn’t dwell too much on the side effects,” she recalls.
But today, the affairs of Thalidomide, Distilbène, Vioxx and Dépakine “are marked, according to the doctor, by the absence of precaution and/or the seal of profit”. To get out of a system “with a very paternalistic foundation”, Dr. Frachon proposes to “treat citizens as responsible adults”.
A commendable step in a period of great confusion. But the title of the book sends a completely different signal: “Secondary effects: the French Scandal”. Catchy and seller certainly, but which leaves little room for the exchange and the requirement of pedagogy. As a result, the authors’ prescription is not free of unpleasant side effects!
(1) Ed. First
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