Monday, July 23, 2007

On ineffective treatment

The National Post reports that Health Canada will be trying to make an issue out of counterfeit prescription drugs this fall. But while it's hard to dispute the general merit of avoiding the spread of counterfeit drugs, the timing and context of the Cons' announcement raise a few questions.

First, with the future of Canada's wider health care system set for public debate this fall, are the Cons simply looking for an excuse to say that Health Canada is too busy elsewhere to say a word (or to deal with even more blatant abuses of the Canada Health Act)?

Second, will the Cons take the opportunity to conflate counterfeit drugs with generic ones as an excuse to offer up yet another giveaway to major pharmaceutical companies?

And third, will the Cons try to dupe Canadians into thinking that by dealing with a relatively small problem with counterfeiting as their action on prescription drugs, they can avoid doing anything about the more important problem of prescription drug costs?

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