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| Friday, 07 March 2003 |
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Price healthy drugs by Edward Arambewala - Health Watch Coordinator Though price healthy generics already exist in the market, branded pharmaceuticals too will be available for the public soon, lightening the heavy price burden of the drugs. People friendly transformation
Minister Karunanayake is pleased to inform the public that the Board of Directors of this new company STCM headed by Prof. Lal Chandrasena, whom he had chosen are all giving their services free not even for board meetings they are taking anykind of payment, he said. The Minister added this showed how deeply social and service minded they are, and with that kind of a self-motivated board, the government is bound to succeed in achieving its objective of bringing down the C.O.L. step by step.Quality tested quality drugs The STCM Chairman Prof. Chandrasena assures the public that all STCM drugs imported will be quality assured, as they will be quality tested by a private laboratory of international standing. He said the Director Board of the STCM comprised experienced medical professionals, two businessmen, and two representatives from the Health Nutrition and Social Welfare Ministry.All drugs imported will be registered with the State Drug Authority - (SDA).He explained parallel imports meant the import of brand named drugs manufactured not in the country of origin like U.K. but in their branch factories in countries like India, Pakistan etc. Here the same drug that costs Rs. 100 when imported from U.K. would cost only Rs. 50 when imported from India.Prof. Chandrasena said STCM commenced operations in October last year 2002, and at the moment five generic drugs imported through cheaper sources are being marketed at CWE outlets. The people oriented barefoot price structure of these drugs could be seen from the following graph.How parallel imports become price easy? Prof. Chandrasena explained that parallel import of brand named drugs meant the import of these drugs not direct from the parent companies in U.K. as it is being done now by the pharmaceutical trade, but importing them from the companies’ manufacturing plants outside U.K. like in India, Thailand and Pakistan.He said, it is the same drugs that are manufactured in these countries but the price is almost half that of the U.K. manufactured products.Prof. Chandrasena also said that it is difficult to understand why this price easy facility has not been explored and afforded to the public by the existing pharmaceutical trade in this country so far. However with the STCM being a state body set up by the government nobody can raise objections to the STCM stepping into this area for the benefit of the public. Prof. Chandrasena said our entering this market is mainly to afford the parallel import benefit to the public, if at any stage we find that as a result of our intervention into this field the existing pharmaceutical trade also commence importing drugs from parallel sources, we may consider to revert to some other areas of business, because our main objective of easy price drugs for the people would then have been achieved. No burden on the treasury Prof. Chandrasena said in setting up the STCM the Treasury has not been burdened with in anyway. The new company has made use of some of the infrastructure facilities available in the State Trading Corporation, and also gone to the banks for money. He said though the STCM will be selling drugs at almost half the value in the existing market yet we will making reasonable profit and our organisation is going to be economically viable.Prof. Chandrasena’s advice to the general public for easy on the purse drugs go for ‘healthy price pharmaceuticals at STCM pharmacy outlets.STCM drug imports results in * Price easy, purse easy drugs at almost half the prevailing market price, to the
public. --------------------------------------------
Foot and kneefitness by Dr M S Dhillon This is the first in a series of articles on fitness of the foot and the knee, how to select shoes, how to prevent foot and knee pain, the foot in children (flat foot) and the knee in children (knock knees and bow legs). The aim of these is to increase self awareness, and to catch minor problems at an early stage, when deterioration is preventable. Are your feet in the right Shape? Did you know that your feet are subjected to pressure many times your body weight, millions of times during your lifetime? These small appendages, considered unimportant, are as important as your hands or your eyes for daily living, as these bear the brunt of all locomotion and all weight bearing activity. Small amounts of pain can be severely disabling, causing unnecessary discomfort and hardship. It is thus wise to look after your feet, and prevent problems from arising.Following guidelines are based on international standards, perfected by the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle society; as I am the Editor of the Indian Journal of Foot Surgery, I have incorporated many of these for Asian people and given below are a few simple things that you can do to analyze our own feet.Take your shoes off and follow these simple steps for self-examination. Check your skin for calluses, blisters or areas of irritation. Now stand next to your shoes. Are they shaped like your feet or are they causing areas of constriction that may result in calluses, blisters or irritation? Now put your hand inside your shoe. Do you feel any seams or rough places in the shoe that correspond to the areas of irritation, calluses or blisters on your feet? Look at the colour of your toes. Are they red, pink, purple or blue? Press down on the nail of your big toe until the colour blanches. Now let go and allow the blood flow to return to your toe. The return of normal color should take 2-5 seconds in a person with average circulation. If this does not occur, you need to see a doctor.How flexible are your toes? Try to pick up a marble (excellent) or a small piece of cloth (good). To test your ankle flexibility, hang your heel off of a stair. Now let the heel go below the level of the stair. If this causes pain, stop the test. If your heel goes below the level of the stair without causing strain in your calf, that is excellent. If there is some strain, flexibility is less, and this could induce foot strain even with normal activities. This can be improved with flexibility exercises.For checking pain and sensation, take a pencil eraser and lightly run it on the top, bottom and both sides of your feet. The sensation should be felt equally in all areas of the foot. It may tickle on the bottom of the feet. Any decreased sensation is a cause for alarm. There should be no pain at any time in the average foot.Foot Balance is tested by standing on one foot, with your arms out to the side and your eyes closed. If you are less than 30 years old, you should be able to balance for 15 seconds, 30-40 years old for 12 seconds, 40-50 years old for 10 seconds, and over 50 years old for 7 seconds. Improper balance could potentially lead to falls, and this can be improved with exercises prescribed by a doctor.If all the above are satisfactory, you have good feet. If even one is abnormal, get your feet looked at by an orthopaedic specialist, who will help you to identify your problem early, and probably solve it completely.Diabetic feet: A serious problem that I have encountered here in the last few weeks is the extent of neglect that is seen in the feet of people with diabetes. Since diabetes is a fairly common disease, it is important to note that problems like sensation loss, even eye problems and often kidney function gradually become affected in long term diabetics. The foot loses sensation, and such severe problems may develop that may sometimes justify amputation! Just to make the readers aware of this problem, I plan to write a separate article on the foot in diabetes, wherein the stress will be on prevention of problems rather than managing them.The writer is Senior Consultant, OrthopaedicsApollo Hospitals, Colombomsdhillon@sancharnet.in ; mandyrima@hotmail.com
Alcohol and your health Common misperceptions by Dr. D. P. Atukorale There have been many claims in the press about the miracles that the red wine or other forms of alcohol can prevent heart attacks. This gives the impression that we can take the magic potion and we can eat, smoke or do anything we like and still not get a heart attack.A recent study suggested that the lowest death rates are found among men who have only two to four drinks a week, while another found that three to five drinks a day are associated with a greatest longevity for men and women. Do the benefits accrue only if you drink wine and more specifically red wine? Will grapes or grape juice confer similar protective effects? Should women with high risks of breast cancer abstain? What about pregnancy and breast feeding? Let us look at the common misperceptions about alcohol and health. 1. The best alcoholic beverage for protecting against heart disease is red wine The popular notion that red rather than white wine, beer or mixed drinks in the magic potion has never been confirmed. The bulk of the evidence indicates that any alcoholic beverage protects against heart disease.Researchers have singled out certain substances present only in red wine that may ward off a heart attack. These are called flavonoids which include a subclass of compounds known as phenols and these substances come from grape skins. They appear to act as antioxidants that keep bad LDL cholesterol from forming artery blocking plaques. There is some evidence that flavonoids have an anti-clotting effect on the blood which could protect against heart attacks. Harvard University Eric Rimm MD, one of the leading researchers looking into the connection between alcohol and health says that the added benefit due to taking alcohol is very small. Thus red wine is not the “drink of choice”, when it comes to staying off heart attacks as the amount of antioxidants in red wine is low, very much lower than what you get in a balanced diet with fruits and vegetables. The quantity of flavonoids in tea is higher than what you get in a glass of red wine. To get the amount of antioxidant protection one has to consume a dangerously large amount of red wine. 2. Alcohol protects against heart disease by thinning the blood Alcohol appears to render “cells” in the blood called platelets less sticky and therefore less likely to aggregate and form a clot in coronary arteries. Alcohol also raises the blood level of HDL (good) cholesterol. HDL level of below 40mg is risk factor for heart attacks. You are okay if your HDL level is above 55 or more is very advantageous.Regular exercise, stopping smoking along with taking off extra pounds raises the HDL cholesterol level. If your HDL cholesterol level is low and if you start an exercise programme of moderate intensify, you might only raise HDL three to four points. You could expect the same results from losing five to 10 excess pounds.Of course, engaging in physical activity on a regular basis does a lot of life protecting things that drinking does not, making the heart beat more efficiently, reducing the risk of diabetes, decreasing blood pressure and increasing bone density. Taking off extra pounds also takes stress off the joints, putting less pressure or heart muscle and makes it easier for you to get around. 3. Because alcohol raises the risk for breast cancer the hazards of drinking outweigh the benefits for women. Alcohol seems to raise the risk of breast cancer in women apparently by raising the level of hormone, estragen which promotes the development of certain types of breast tumours. In a Harvard study of 90,000 middle-aged women 3 to 9 drinks a week reduced the risk of heart disease by 40% but raised the risk of breast cancer by 30 per cent. If a woman has one or more risks of breast cancer such as a strong family history of breast cancer, or had onset of menstruation before the age of 12 years, first pregnancy after 30, never having children or menopause later than 55, she should not drink. On the other hand if a woman does not have any particular risk factors for breast cancer, yet has heart disease risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking or high blood cholesterol she might choose not to stop drinking moderately if that is already one of her habits.To be continued --------------------------------------------------
Avoiding health risks at the VDU How to prevent discomfort and correct your posture by B. Samarasinghe Today most of the workforce of a Company or business establishment is working on computers all day. The eyes, neck, shoulders, arms, wrist, leg, feet and back are the areas of the human body, which are affected by overloading of work. When you sit for prolonged periods working at V.D.U., it is easy to settle into an efficient working posture. At first you will not be aware of this because it feels comfortable, but as time goes on you may notice some of the following symptoms. Aching Stiffness “Pins and needles” A feeling of heaviness Eyestrain or headaches These are warning sings which, if ignored, can lead to pain. An inefficient working posture To keep muscles and joints healthy, they should be given adequate exercise throughout the day. Varying one’s posture frequently may allow for this, but with modern technology this is not always possible.Prolonged sitting postures incur static muscle work, is less efficient than dynamic muscles work, and allows a build-up of lactic acid in the muscles causing fatigue and aching. To offset this, it is essential that exercises are performed at frequent intervals during the day. The number of times that these exercises need to be performed varies from person to person; towards the end of a working week, they usually need to be performed more frequently. The aim is to prevent the onset of muscular aches and pains. A selection of these exercises, together with guidelines for correct posture are illustrated on the following pages. Efficient working posture * Room temperature, air quality and noise levels need attention * Sit well under desk * Forearm support is recommended * Workstation should have adequate illumination * Use of copyholder recommended * Top line of the screen should be at or below eye level to help read it without bending the head or neck. Balanced neck posture Shoulders relaxedUpper arm vertical or slightlyAdequate low back supportForearm approximately horizontalAdjustable height chairFeet flat on floor or footstoolCopy holderEfficient working posture can reduce stress, occurrence of injuries and enhance productivity. The Swan: Without dropping your head down, pull in your face so that you make a double chin. Feel the back of your neck lengthening. Neck stretch: Tuck in your chin, then bend your head forwards. Give your neck an extra stretch by pulling on your head with one hand. A good exercise for headaches. Rotation: Make sure your head is straight before you start this exercise, then turn you head from side to side, keeping your chin level. Back stretch: Stretch your arms over the back of your chair and lean backwards to straighten your spine. Sideways stretch: Bend over to one side, stretching the other arm over your head. Repeat to the other side. Push and lean: Standing with feet apart, push your hips forward. Then lean backwards. Return to the upright position. The writer is aChartered Physiotherapist
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Produced by Lake House |
This patient and people friendly transformation in drug price structure has been made possible by the Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Ravi Karunanayake and the Health Nutrition and Social Welfare Minister P.
Dayaratne, acting together in a move to price ease the pharmaceutical drugs for the public by setting up the STC Medicals under the Commerce Ministry for the import and distribution of pharmaceuticals under parrell imports policy.Minister Karunanayake in an interview with the Health Watch on Monday on this move said “We are going to relieve the present price burden of pharmaceutical drugs on the public by as much as 30 to 50 per cent, and at the same time save the government approximately
Rs. 7 billion annually on pharmaceutical drug imports”.
