Scandalous Industry: When Medicines Go Wrong

Scandalous Industry: When Medicine Goes Wrong
The pharmaceutical industry has always held a dichotomous position. Whilst the funding and facilities firms have provided for scientific pharmacists, chemists and their ilk have led to many of the most important breakthroughs in twentieth century drug treatments, the nature of the product they provide - drugs and by association good-health – has left them open to damning criticism. This essay shall examine one of the primary roots of such criticism; the drug scandal. By studying the cases of Sulfanilamide and Ritalin, this essay shall determine why such scandals have occurred throughout the century despite dramatic legal changes. Ultimately, this essay hopes to chart the evolution of such drug scandals, and the complex relationships therein, between government, pharmaceutical companies, medical professionals and consumers. It is the hope that by juxtaposing a relatively unambiguous incident, with one drastically more complex, this study shall offer a comprehensive analysis of such developments.
The 1937 Sulfanilamide disaster in the United States provides a comprehensive case study in which to examine the roots of dangerous pharmaceuticals. But first one must consider the context in which the Elixir was produced. Prior to the 1930s, the most recent legislation passed by Congress was the 1906 Pure Food and Drugs Act, yet ultimately, as Abraham argues, this was a protectionist measure for the consumer against false advertising and not for drug safety at the point of manufacture. The Act, according to Conrad and Leiter, allowed only partial concessions to purity - and in later amendments - efficacy. Gordon Appelbe however, emphasises the role of the American Medical Association in pharmaceutical manufacture, as proponents of clinical trials, pharmacological testing for toxicity, and the praxis of individual agency in evaluating new drugs for the market, though their impact on such processes should not be overstated,

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[ 5 ]. John Abraham, Science…, (UCL Press, London, 1995), pp. 48, 51. [ 6 ]. John Abraham, Science…, (UCL Press, London, 1995), p. 52. [ 7 ]. John Mann, The Elusive Magic Bullet: The Search for the Perfect Drug, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 1999), p. 35. [ 8 ]. M. Weatherall, In Search of a Cure: A History of Pharmaceutical Discovery, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, Tokyo, 1990), p. 276. [ 9 ]. John Abraham, Science…, (UCL Press, London, 1995), p. 52. [ 10 ]. United States Secretary of Agriculture, ‘Elixir Sulfanilamide-Massengill: Report of the United States Secretary of Agriculture’, California and Western Medicine, vol. 48, no. 1, (January, 1938), p. 68. [ 11 ]. Gordon E. Appelbe, ‘From Arsenic to Thalidomide’ in Stuart Anderson (ed), Making Medicines: A Brief History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals, (The Pharmaceutical Press, Chicago, London, 2005), pp. 251-2. [ 12 ]. See John Mann, The Elusive Magic Bullet, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 1999), p. 35 and M. Weatherall, In Search of a Cure, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, Tokyo, 1990), p. 276. [ 14 ]. Dr Weathers, ‘New Drug Fatal to Pastor and Gas Station Operator’, Kingston Times, (October 21st, 1937). [ 15 ]. Dr A. S. Calhoun, ‘Doctor’s Story of Deaths’, New Orleans States, (October 22nd, 1937). [ 16 ]. Report from the United States Secretary of Agriculture, ‘Elixir Sulfanilamide-Massengill’, California and Western Medicine, vol. 48, no. 1, (January, 1938), p. 69. [ 17 ]. Gordon E. Appelbe, ‘From Arsenic to Thalidomide’ in Stuart Anderson (ed), Making Medicines: A Brief History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals, (The Pharmaceutical Press, Chicago, London, 2005), p. 251. [ 18 ]. John Abraham, Science…, (UCL Press, London, 1995), p. 45. [ 19 ]. Michael H. Jepson, ‘From Secret Remedies to Prescription Medicines: A Brief History of Medicine’, in Stuart Anderson, Making Medicines: A Brief History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals, (The Pharmaceutical Press, Chicago, London, 2005), p. 227. [ 21 ]. Leslie Iverson, Speed, Ecstasy, Ritalin: The Science of Amphetamines, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 2008), pp. 63-4. See also, Eileen Beal, Ritalin: Its Use and Abuse, (Rosen Publishing, New York, 2003), p. 27. [ 22 ]. Leslie Iverson, Speed, Ecstasy, Ritalin, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 2008), p. 67. [ 23 ]. Kelly Patricia O’Meara, Psyched Out: How Psychiatry Sells Mental Illness and Pushes Pills that Kill, (Authorhouse, Bloomington, Milton Keynes, 2006), p. 66 [ 24 ] [ 25 ]. Rasmussen, Nicolas, On Speed: The Many Lives of Amphetamine, (New York University Press, London, New York, 2008), pp. 54-5. [ 26 ]. Leslie Iverson, Drugs: A Very Short History, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 2001), pp. 17, 91-2. [ 27 ]. Rasmussen, Nicolas, On Speed, (New York University Press, London, New York, 2008), pp. 91-2, 172-3. [ 28 ]. Kelly Patricia O’Meara, Psyched Out, (Authorhouse, Bloomington, Milton Keynes, 2006), p. 65. [ 29 ]. Angela Southall, The Other Side of ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Exposed and Explained, (Radcliffe, Abingdon, 2007), p. 10. See also [ 30 ] [ 32 ]. Lawrence H. Diller, ‘The Run on Ritalin: Attention Deficit Disorder and Stimulant Treatment in the 1990s’, Hastings Central Report, vol. 26, no. 2 (March-April, 1996), p. 13. [ 33 ]. Jane Wheatley, ‘The Attention Seekers’, The Times, (September 28th, 1996), p. 18. [ 34 ]. Dr Thomas Stuttaford, ‘Amphetamines May Calm Hyperactivity’, The Times, (April 24th, 1995), p. 6. See also ‘Help for the Hyper Active Child’, The Times, (May 25th, 1999), p. 19. [ 35 ]. Jane Wheatley, ‘The Attention Seekers’, The Times, (September 28th, 1996), p. 18. [ 36 ]. Ian Robertson, ‘Is He Just William, or Dennis the Menace?,. The Times, (December 14th, 1995), p. 18. [ 37 ]. Dr Thomas Stuttaford, ‘Amphetamines May Calm Hyperactivity’, The Times, (April 24th, 1995), p. 6. [ 38 ]. Adam Rafalovich, Framing ADHD Children: A Critical Examination of the History, Discourse, and Everyday Experience of Attention Deficity/Hyperactivity Disorder, (Lexington Books, New York, Plymouth, Toronto, 2004), pp. 69-3. [ 39 ]. Ian Robertson, ‘Is He Just William, or Dennis the Menace?’. The Times, (Decmeber 14th, 1995), p. 18. [ 40 ]. Annabel Ferriman, ‘Swallow the Pill and Calm Down’, The Times, (October 19th, 1993), p. 13. [ 41 ]. Jane Wheatley, ‘The Attention Seekers’, The Times, (September 28th, 1996), p. 18. [ 42 ]. Dr Thomas Stuttaford, ‘Amphetamines May Calm Hyperactivity’, The Times, (April 24th, 1995), p. 6. [ 43 ]. Carol Midgely, ‘Not mad, Not Bad, but Still Dangerous to Live With’, The Times, (January 11th, 2000), p. 35. [ 44 ]. Lawrence H. Diller, ‘The Run on Ritalin: Attention Deficit Disorder and Stimulant Treatment in the 1990s’, Hastings Central Report, vol. 26, no. 2 (March-April, 1996), p. 13. [ 45 ]. Leslie Iverson, Speed, Ecstasy, Ritalin, (Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford, 2008), p. 60. [ 47 ]. Jane Wheatley, ‘The Attention Seekers’, The Times, (September 28th, 1996), p. 18. [ 48 ]. Lawrence H. Diller, ‘The Run on Ritalin’, Hastings Central Report, vol. 26, no. 2 (March-April, 1996), p. 13. [ 49 ]. Marie Claire Leger, Toby Miller, ‘A Very Childish Moral Panic’, Journal of Medical Humanities, vol. 24, nos. 1-2, (Summer, 2003), p. 27. [ 50 ]. Annabel Ferriman, ‘Swallow the Pill and Calm Down’, The Times, (October 19th, 1993), p. 13. [ 51 ]. Linda Williams, ‘Parents and Doctors Fear Growing Misuse of Drug used to treat Hyperactive Kids’, The Wall Street Journal, (January 15th, 1988), p. 10.