Pharma in the bedroom . . . and the kitchen. . . . The pharmaceuticalisation of daily life

This paper examines the consequences of a new emphasis on lifestyle in the production, marketing and consumption of pharmaceuticals. Over the past decade, a range of medicines have become available that address aspects of lifestyle, while others have been the subject of lifestyle marketing. We argue, with recourse to a broad literature from the social sciences, economics and health services research and from our study of pharmaceutical consumption, that two processes can be discerned. First, there is a domestication of pharmaceutical consumption, with drugs available via home computers, and marketing of pharmaceuticals that focuses upon private or personal conditions and addresses domestic activities such as sex and cooking. Secondly, there is a pharmaceuticalisation of everyday life as the pharmaceutical industry introduces profitable medicines for a range of daily activities and pharmaceuticals come to be seen by consumers as a 'magic bullet' to resolve problems of daily life. We suggest that the pharmaceuticalisation of daily life links the economics and politics of pharmaceutical production to the private lives of citizens.     

Physicians and the state in the U.S.A. and Israel.

The paper focuses on two patterns of policy-making: a professional pattern in which physicians dominate, and a political pattern in which state authorities take the lead. It looks into the causes of the emergence of each of these patterns and their consequences, in terms of the equity of the health services and their efficiency. The U.S.A. and Israel provide examples for the professional and political patterns of health policy making. The causes for the development of the political pattern in the U.S.A. are grounded in the social salience of medical care, in physicians' economic power, and in the individualistic political culture. The politicization of health services in Israel came about owing to the low placement of health on the social agenda, the proletarianization of physicians, and the hierarchical administrative culture. Analysis of the results indicates that Israel portrays more equity in health services. However, in terms of efficiency results are mixed. In both countries, changes are taking place in opposite directions: more politicization in the U.S.A.; less in Israel.     

Nutrition in Space: Evidence from the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.

Space flight exposes humans to a hostile, stressful environment as well as to the weightlessness associated with microgravity. The stresses of space travel affect nutritional balance, as evidenced by interrelated changes in body composition, energy utilization, and endocrine function. The limited data gathered thus far suggest that space flight incurs acute decreases in fluid mass and chronic, ongoing changes in muscle and bone mass. Concurrent with these changes is an increase in energy used per unit body mass. Other preliminary data suggest that bed rest and space flight may incur increased sensitivity to insulin. Further research is needed to determine the human energy and protein requirements for space, as well as a means of quantifying changes in body composition during extended-duration space flight.     

Restructuring. 1. Setting the framework--restructuring the organisation

The NHS has undergone several major overhauls since it was set up in 1948. This series of five articles examines some of the current fashions in organisational restructuring--from process re-engineering and patient-focused care to GP fundholding--and analyses some of their longer-term consequences from the perspective of professional training and development. Finally, we consider what the shape of the NHS might look like in the late 1990s.     

Protein in the U.S. diet.

Nationwide studies carried out between 1965 and 1975 have been reviewed to determine: (a) The adequacy of dietary protein nutrition in the United States, (b) the level of protein available from the national food supply, and (c) the effects of excessive amounts of protein in the diet. On the basis of the studies reviewed, it can be concluded that the diets of most Americans are adequate in quantity and quality of protein.