Pharmacological Insights for the Well-Informed Clinicians book launch at Annabel's Tomas Morato

A few weeks ago, Ms. Lariza Garcia invited me to attend a seminar involving the healthcare profession in Annabel's Tomas Morato. The agenda for the function was the launch of a groundbreaking factbook in the pharmaceutical and medical profession. Entitled "Pharmacological Insights of the Well-Informed Clinician", the book aims to remind medical professionals of their duty to make informed decisions in the utilization and selection of medicines. It also reminds the same group of people of the importance of ethics and other principles in the course of implementing therapeutic intervention.

Johnson and Johnson, one of the leading pharmaceutical manufacturers based in the country, has spearheaded the creation of this book to promote the efficiency and efficacy of pharmacological intervention in the treatment of patients. The company partnered with the Department of Health; and this initiative made the launch a joint initiative of the private and the public sector. Also, the Philippine Medical Association, the umbrella organization of medical practice in the Philippines, was tapped to promote the book.

One of the more striking topics in the book is pharmacovigilance. According to the material, it is described as a process wherein a medicine is subjected to very high standards of testing in order to diligently forsee its adverse effects. As shown below, here is a simple classification for drugs which are to undergo testing.

The book also notes that there are substantial adverse results from the lack of pharmacovigilance practiced by the industry. Adverse Drug Reaction or ADR is the most substantial, with the next picture explaining the quantity of the mishap.

The sad thing about this statistic is that 49% of all ADR's are avoidable. Now I understand why the book emphasizes the need for pharmacovigilance.

The entire process is detailed here.

Apart from highlighting treatment processes, the book also points out the challenges faced by the pharmaceutical industry in producing drugs for saving lives. Also, the history and regulatory functions of the Food and Drug Administration are discussed in depth. In conjunction, several laws and administrative orders affecting the functions of the agency were also discussed in passing.

A sample of the history of the FDA

Lastly, the Code of Ethics for Doctors and topics on Medical Negligence were the subjects of the last chapter. The background and history for the development of ethical principles in medicine as well as the current rules and regulations were presented in depth.

During the launch, several officials from the government and private health sector were present. These were President Dr. Minerva Calimag of the Philippine Medical Association, Department of Health Assistant Secretary Paulyn Ubial, and Dr. Susette Lazo of the FDA. According to them, the book will be launched in conjunction with the online platform of the Philippine Medical Association for its continuing education program (OWL@PMA). Apart from this,  the keynote speakers shed some light on the newest developments in drug regulation and development.

For those interested, you can visit www.owlpma.com to know more.

The story in pictures:

The speakers for the day

The hard copy of the book

Photos courtesy of:

Angela Abad of https://loveteacherange.wordpress.com

Johnson and Johnson for the book pictures
Ms. Lariza Garcia for the invite

Event post: Cigarettes are Eating You Alive Campaign at Manila Diamond Hotel (August 6, 2015) #SmokeFreePh

I was again invited by Ms. Millet Liberato of DDB to the event launch of an anti-smoking campaign held at the Manila Diamond Hotel in Ermita, Manila, last August 6, 2015. Entitled "Cigarettes are Eating You Alive", this initiative aims to curb tobacco use and manufacture through widely-disseminated Public Service Announcements (PSA's) in national television. Apart from this objective, the campaign also encourages public support for anti-smoking legislation and graphic health warnings in cigarette packs. It also aims to encourage smokers to quit and protect non-smokers from second-hand smoke.

The generous hosts for the afternoon were the Department of Health (DOH), together with the World Lung Foundation and the New Vois Association of the Philippines (NVAP). These are three prominent organizations that have dedicated time, effort, and money to curbs the deleterious effects of tobacco use in the country.

To orient the media about this campaign, prominent officials of the three aforementioned organizations, as well as those of the World Health Organization, were present. The DOH was represented by Dr. Paulyn Jean Rosell Ubial, Assistant Secretary of Health, and Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, the Director III of the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control. On the other end, Engineer Emerito Rojas, founder of the New Vois Foundation of the Philippines, represented his foundation. The World Health Organization was adequately represented by Dr. Benjamin Lane, the Acting Country Representative of the Philippine Branch. The World Lung Foundation sent two emissaries, namely Sandra Mullin, Senior President of Policy and Communications, and Mego Lien, the Associate Director of Southeast Asia Programs -Policy, Advocacy, and Communications. Lastly, another government agency, the MMDA or Metro Manila Development Authority, was represented by Usec. Corazon T. Jimenez.

During the two hour talk, these prominent officials discussed the dangers of cigarette smoke and the progress on the anti-smoking campaign. To start off, Dr. Benjamin Lane read out the letter given by her colleague, Dr. Susan Pineda-Mercado. Dr. Mercado expressed the WHO support for the campaign and called on intensified efforts to promote it. She congratulated our very own DOH for accelerating the pace of the initiative.

Dr. Ubial, on the other hand, gave a progress report on the campaign. She noted that since the anti-smoking campaign was launched a few years back, there has been a significant decrease on the use of cigarettes. She noted that laws such as the Sin Tax legislation launched in 2012 has contributed centrally to this decline. She also conceded, however, that this measure is not enough. There has to be more punitive legislation on this matter. The world average for cigarette costs, according to her, is at $2 per pack. In the Philippines, a stick is only at about $1. Truly, there has to be an advocacy to increase taxes to diminish cigarette sales.

Dr. Suy presented the deleterious effects of smoking on a person's health. He educated us on the effects of second-hand and third-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke is the excretion of smoke from a cigarette that is inhaled by persons within proximity of the fumes. This kind of smoke is known to be even more dangerous than the smoke directly inhaled by the smoker. Third-hand smoke is the absorption of cigarette smoke into fabrics or other materials within the environment near the fumes. This is still pretty dangerous to one's health despite the fact that the smoker or the cigarette is already gone.

Engr. Rojas informed us of updates on the inclusion of graphic health warnings on cigarette packs. He noted that manufacturers of tobacco have used legal loopholes to sell cigarette packs with no graphic health warning. There was a gap in the law that provided for a grace period for compliance with the graphic warning requirement. However, he was still optimistic that the law will be strengthened to compel manufacturers to comply.

Usec Jimenez noted that the campaign to stop cigarette smoking in the Metro Manila area has been successfully implemented by the MMDA in coordination with local government units. She revealed that the local government units themselves were eager to increase and implement the no-smoking public spaces for the benefit of its constituents. Also, she notes that the MMDA has already caught about 265,000 violators of anti-smoking ordinances in public spaces.

The ad campaign, on the other hand, was launched by the representatives of the WLF, Sandra Mullin and Mego Lien. According to them, the money for creating this PSA was funded by prominent individuals and groups such as former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. They also noted that almost $300,000 has been spent to create the campaign. They also disclosed that a similar campaign has been successful before in other parts of the world. The previous success of these similar campaigns shows the strength of this advocacy.

Tobacco use in the Philippines has been highly recorded in statistical data. According to the Tobacco Atlas, more than 15 million Filipino adults use cigarettes every day. Also, more Filipino men and women smoke more than the average than other people in middle-income countries across the world. As to second-hand smoke, statistics from the 2009 Philippines Global Adult Tobacco Survey have shown that 32.9 million Filipinos are exposed to it every day. The overall ratings show that more than 50% of adults and teenagers are exposed to it in public places. With respect to tobacco use worldwide, the Tobacco Atlas has shown that it is the world's number one preventable cause of mortality. 71,000 people die in the Philippines every year from tobacco-related diseases. As for second-hand smoke, about 600,00 people die from it every year.

The PSA's, on another note, will be broadcast in 15 or 30 second durations on national TV. It will also be aired on LED billboards in Metro Manila. The PSA is projected to reach 40 million Filipinos. Together with the help of subsequent punitive tobacco legislation and graphic health warnings, the initiative is poised to become a powerful tool in disseminating knowledge about the health risks of tobacco.

Special thanks to:
Ms. Millet Liberato of DDB
cnnphilippines.com for the video