Daily Times

Sir: This is with reference to the advertisement of painkiller medicines on the national TV channels and the exaggeration of their revitalising properties. In these frequently telecast advertisements, doctors are shown taking the pills of a specific brand and recommending these medicines to the general public. By using the media, they pursue the public at large to use their brands of painkillers. According to medical ethics, no medicine should be advertised through public media. Similarly, using medicines without supervision by a certified physician can be harmful as all medicines have side effects. The painkillers are especially notorious, because in addition to side effects, they are addictive. Once hooked to a seemingly benign painkiller, the addicts will then resort to other more potent drugs. Self-medication is illegal in developed countries of the world. Moreover, medicine promotion campaigns are never launched through public media. Unfortunately, drug manufacturers are not following these ethics in our country. Here these shrewd business organisations want to increase their sales at any cost. I think this is unfair.

DR NAEEMUD DIN KHATTAK
Peshawar