Wednesday 3 February, 2010

UK
Health

How disorders made to order are creating a generation of pill poppers

By Dee Pfeiffer

A recent media investigation into our use of prescription drugs questioned how much they could be trusted and whether they do what they are supposed to.

Most of us are well aware that medication is often prescribed as an alternative to other more suitable treatments – Christian counselling, a course of non-medicated therapy or prayer, for instance. But it’s astonishing just how many medications are being used by people searching for an end to their depression, pain or suffering.

A woman featured in the BBC’s Horizon series had become so tolerant to codeine that she had to take at least 70 pills a day, just to get the same effect as what two would once have provided. Codeine is an opiate related to morphine and, aside from being an effective short-term painkiller, it has the added effect of making users feel very calm, but it’s not meant for that purpose. Unfortunately, you have to keep upping the dose to get the same effect and, before you know it, you’re hooked.

Of course, it is not the medical industry’s fault if people decide to abuse over-the-counter prescription drugs, and anyone who has suffered intense pain will be very thankful indeed that painkillers exist. But what of those who are being prescribed unnecessary medication simply because society tells them it’s the only way to a happy, contented life?

Viagra, originally marketed as a medication for erectile dysfunction in men, is now used as a lifestyle drug for those who simply want it to boost their sex drive or wrongly consider it an effective aphrodisiac. It is now used and abused by millions, and somewhat disturbingly, even women have tried it.

But it seems they might not need to experiment with the drug much longer since the medical industry has its eyes firmly fixed on females, and especially those with – shock, horror – a lack of desire.

Having seen the huge profits made from erectile dysfunction drugs, manufacturers have been desperate to find additional remedies to boost sexual desire. From a female form of Viagra to sprays and hormone treatments, it seems that the industries are falling over themselves to sex up our already over-sexualised generation.

In fact, anyone who has studied medicine or clinical psychology will know that for many years now this lack of desire for sex has had its own name when it occurs in women. It’s classed as ‘female sexual dysfunction’. And ‘sufferers’ are now in need of a drug in order to make them function more ‘normally’. But a lack of desire is not a clinical disorder, and neither should it be treated as such.

It is interesting to note that homosexuality used to be classed as a dysfunction before relentless campaigns changed all that. But those who identify as asexual (no desire to have sex) continue to be seen as dysfunctional and, by default, are stigmatised. The idea that a lack of interest in sex should be ‘cured’ with a pill also means that any other contributory factors to a lack of desire – stress, issues with self-confidence, depression, an underlying medical condition – may well be overlooked.

The main players in the pharmaceutical industry aren’t interested in whether your lack of sexual desire stems from your general make-up, or whether it’s a side-effect of depression, grief or stress. They don’t care whether you are too tired, or just plain bored of sex. They certainly don’t want to know about those who have made a commitment to short-term or long-term sexual abstinence. After all, that would negate the need for The Pill, let alone pills in general.

In 2003 Dr Rosemary Basson, generously funded by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, began promoting a new ‘disorder’ – none other than FSD (Female Sexual Dysfunction) – that only drugs could cure, suggesting that 43% of women ‘suffer’ from it. People like this are pulling dangerous strings, playing with our lives, our minds and ultimately our health. And if indeed 43% of women suffer from such a disorder, is it a disorder at all?

Interestingly, a little digging finds that this figure comes from a paid Pfizer consultant, Edward Laumann, who simply asked women, “During the last twelve months, has there ever been a period of several months or more when you lacked interest in having sex?”

The media, including many health and science journalists, healthcare professionals and public relations bodies, have all contributed to a climate in which we have a society obsessed with sex and sexuality, and popular culture has greatly increased people’s expectations about the importance of sex to satisfaction.

The public is manipulated into expecting a ‘perfect’ sex life. They are told that sex is ‘natural’– that is, an automatic biological function – from which they can expect high levels of pleasure and a performance to match. Couple this with the fact that many today want a simple, quick-fix solution to problems and you have the perfect recipe in a pill.

The pharmaceutical industry is prescribing ‘cures’ for what is natural and normal, and those who don’t fit their mould will, through pills, be forced to do so. Men are taking Viagra in order to feel more like ‘real men’ and women are classed as dysfunctional if they don’t happen to want sex. No wonder so many people are unhappy with their lot. But all is not lost, for when the lifestyle pills and potions don’t fill that void, we can always turn to the industry’s favourite multi-million pound drug… the anti-depressant.

Photo: Used with Permission