Legal fears ‘denying’ use of helpful drugs

Press, 19 June 1986, Page 1

Legal fears ‘denying’ use of helpful drugs

Useful drugs are being denied to New Zealanders because of drug companies’ fear of litigation, according to the Medical Officer of Health in Christchurch, Dr Bill Malpress.

A prime example was the drug, Debendox, an anti-nausea drug which has come under suspicion of causing birth defects when used to control morning sickness in pregnancy. It was withdrawn from the market about two years ago.

It had been withdrawn because of the legal action against the makers rather than epidemiological evidence against it, said Dr Malpress. The Health Department

had always had a policy of discouraging drug use in pregnancy, but some women needed some form of treatment to be able to keep their food down, he said.

Risks had to be balanced against benefits in terms of lives saved or quality of life improved, he said.

"It does concern me that a drug prescribed deliberately and with great care by a doctor can be denied by the fear of litigation.” Another example was the vaccine against whooping cough, Dr Malpress said.

It had one or two unpleasant side effects

which had been reported in detail in the British news media recently, and “hundreds of thousands” of parents, had refused the vaccine for their children, he said.

“Ultimately that caused more damage than the vaccine itself could.”

The New Zealand news media had reported the matter “very responsibly,” however, and similar problems had not happened here. Dr Malpress emphasised that he was not being critical of individuals involved in legal action against drug manufacturers. In some instances, problems caused by drugs were very real tragedies.