From Mark MacDiarmid
In discussing the dance between the media and big pharma, and the distorted reporting of medical advances that can result, Peter Aldhous looks for remedies in self-regulation and consumer pressure (6 January, p 17). He shies away from suggesting more formal regulation of this emerging public health nightmare – perhaps because of the prevailing wisdom that the global economic freight train does its thing best in the absence of non-market-based interventions.
Yet in one activity that is central to market economies this prevailing wisdom is not applied. The raising of capital through publicly traded shares is almost always a highly regulated affair, and the dissemination of information through prospectuses and other invitations is controlled by stock exchange rules and laws administered by government watchdogs. This is done to protect investors and to promote commercial stability.
Surely the reliability of public health information is at least as important as the protection of investors in equity markets, and should be regulated accordingly.
Katoomba, New South Wales, Australia
