Drug company buys me lunch - ethical?

Question

I struggle with this right.
I am working in a mental health team and drugs companies often lay on lunches and dinners with guest speakers to talk about various issues in mental health work. They are not promoting their products per se but of course they do pay for food and booze! All this when there are people worlwide who cannot afford essential medicines while these same companies rake in massive profits.
I feel kinda bad for eating the food - what do you think?

Answer 1

I work for mental health too and I know what you mean.

I have countless pens and note pads with drug names on them; I even have an old coffee cup with the inscription 'Mellaril, there's nothing like it."

The drug rep at my wife's hospital actually brings imported candy from India, because a lot of the doctors are from India. He brings it right before Divali; a Hindu holy day, what a guy.

I hear that doctors get all kinds of perks from drug companies, and they are much more expensive than lunch, candy, pens or note pads. I'm not a doctor, so I'm not in on that deal.

It's all a bit sleazy, yes.

But we work in a capitalist system and that kind of thing is considered acceptable with that context.

Answer 2

It is ethical, and normal with any vendor. The cost of that food is not affecting the ability to offer essential medicines across the world, or even here. The drug companies themselves do that, and they are now rich from that.

See, I pay $700 a month for 4 different medications, 2 of them are seizure meds, those are about $400 a month. Keppra manufactured by UCB costs me $279.00 for 60 pills. This is an essential medicine, it is required. Do those pills cost anywhere near that amount to make? Now, what I have done, is I started buying my Keppra in Canada for $79 a month.

They are still profiting off the Canadians, but the drug costs here are insane. Yet, the same could be said about Microsoft :) Although they have never held fancy parties with good lunch and booze. We just get some geek with a projector and they raffle away some stuff. Honestly, Vista can run you up to $500.00, $500 for something to run your computer.. when you can get the same thing that is better for free... Medications that cost $279 when they are a fraction of the cost in other countries. Yes, our country has taken capitalism a little too far and no one wants to do anything about it. Even electricity and gas prices.

So don't feel bad, you are just in one of MANY fields that do this. Live it up, nothing to complain about when they give you something for free, or if it really bothers you, go support an organization that helps people receive lowered priced prescriptions, quite a few. Long answer :)

Answer 3

Strictly speaking, not ethical.

If you eat their food, and then (ever) prefer their product, then bias can be suspected.

There are mitigations; lunch is not huge bribe, and any forum for 'declaring' the gift will allow observers to balance the 'pressure' any gift applies against the reasonableness of any preference you have for the product.

In the real world, a lot of people decide that the best way to 'get them back' for their slightly sleazy behaviour, is to eat their food and carefully avoid preferring their product. Or even avoid applying it at all.

Many pharmaceuticals can be shown to be less effective than lifestyle changes and social or interpersonal therapies, so if your professional development concentrates on these alternatives, you can promote them by networking during the same conferences and lunches that are meant to (subtly) encourage drug therapy.

Answer 4

This is sales and marketing.

I hear what you are saying ... but the problem is lack of competition. Yes, they have some competition, but not enough. I would love to see Walmart develop their own drug company. The more competitive the market, the less profits that can be made and price goes down. The high prices are also due to the frivolous law suits that this country has allowed. Compare drug prices in the US to Mexico.

Answer 5

Attending a conference is one thing, but if they have to bribe you with food and alcohol they expect to be getting something in return. Anyone who works in the MH or Medical field knows that they are not even supposed to accept pens from companies like this anymore because of the ethical dilemma behind it. You would never want your credentials or motives to be questioned because you had a martini would you?

Answer 6

If private companies want to pay for your food -- that's their choice, rather than to donate that money to some other cause. Refusing to eat won't change their behavior.

And as long as you make your professional decisions based solely on what you think is right for your hospital and your patients, then the fact that somebody bought you lunch doesn't mean anything.

It would only be an ethical problem if you based on decision on how much you wanted the free lunches, rather than on the patient's needs.

Answer 7

When I worked in Mental Health teams, Risperdel Consta reps provided the best lunches and the best freebies. That said, I used to be ethical, then I became cynical of my own ethics!

Answer 8

Well if you don't go, will it solve the world's problems? No - someone else will take your place. Enjoy the freebies whilst they last and stop beating yourself up. There'll be plenty of time to put the world to rights later.

I used to work in erm, 'asset recovery'. I once dealt with a case where we got thousands of pounds out of somebody to prevent us repossessing their house. The solicitors who helped me stuck in a big bill for their work and then promptly took me out for a meal, followed by a free night on the town and ending up in a lap-dancing bar with unlimited free dances. Now that IS unethical! I'm going straight to hell in a handcart!!

Answer 9

its very common in the mental health world. i have a friend who is a cpn, she's always enjoying expensive dinners and lunches and then comes out with free mugs and keyrings. the price of some dehydration drugs for some kid in africa is 15p to us, probably virtually nothing to the drug company and yet unaffordable to the child and his family. the drugs companies in this world need to be more regulated i say and be forced to reduce their prices for drugs

Answer 10

Ethical ... no but these companies are rich. I know someone that sell Viagra for a living and makes $100,000 a year. How hard could that really be? I would just enjoy the benefits but you are right these companies are dirty.