Newspaper Review IV

Date: 10/12/2008
Straits Time Section B1
Title: Sleeping pills: GPs put on alert

Summary:

The ministry of Health has issued new guidelines governing how doctors prescribe sleeping pills in a bid to address the problems of overpresciption and addiction where doctors need to keep a detailed record when they prescribe sleeping pills indicating dosage, duration of use, reasons and so on. In the last five years, 24 doctors have been bought before Singapore Medical Council for dispensing sleeping pills too liberally. It is clearer to doctors that they have to take responsibility and face an audit.

Reflections:

After reading this article, i personally feel that it is quite a good measure to control the usage of drugs in singapore where it actually helps to prevent citizens from abusing drugs to satisfy their own needs. Without this type of prevention measures, i believe that people would misuse drugs and cause serious consequences where they could suffer harmful side-effects. In my own opinion, the difference between drugs and medicine lies in a fine line, misuse of medicine could be considered as a drug where it causes harmful effects to body. Drugs put in the correct use would be considered as a medicine where it saves life.

In short, regardless of drugs and medicine, both must be kept in control to prevent people from misusing them irresponsibly.

Done by: Minxian;D