| The purpose of using drugs is to relieve symptoms, treat infection, reduce the risk of future disease, and destroy selected cells such as in the chemotherapeutic treatment of cancer. The best treatment, however, may not require a drug at all. Recognizing that no effective medication exists is just as important as knowing which one to select. |
| The transdermal application of drugs provides an alternate method for applying drugs to achieve a systemic, rather than local, effect. The administration of a drug through the skin not only minimizes the metabolism of the drug before it reaches the rest of the body but also eliminates the high and low blood levels associated with oral... |
| The U.S. pharmaceutical industry began 1994 with a good deal of trepidation, aware that it was likely to absorb much public criticism for prices and profiteering when Congress began considerations on a new health care bill. Drug manufacturers had been singled out as villains for being major contributors to the problem of health care costs, but... |
| The U.S. pharmaceutical industry failed to benefit from a more conservative Congress in 1996. The industry's long-sought reform of the Food and Drug Administration was not enacted. After the U.S. elections in November, it seemed clear that any future reform legislation would be moderate. |
| use of drugs for psychotropic rather than medical purposes. Among the most common psychotropic drugs are opiates (opium, morphine, heroin), hallucinogens (LSD, mescaline, psilocybin), barbiturates, cocaine, amphetamines, tranquilizers, and cannabis. Alcohol and tobacco are also sometimes classified as drugs. The term "drug abuse" is... |
