Respiratory Medicine, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK.
National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College, London, UK.
Int J Chron Obstruct Pulmon Dis. 2021 Oct 23;16:2917-2923. doi: 10.2147/COPD.S337066. eCollection 2021.
The takeover of Vectura, a healthcare company specialising in inhaled medication, by Philip Morris International raises serious ethical concerns. The European Respiratory Society notes that "health professionals will avoid prescribing drugs from any company that enriches the tobacco industry due to the ethical implications". People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma will also be reluctant to use medications which profit a company that is estimated to kill at least one million people every year. We discuss the practicalities involved in switching people with lung disease to inhaled medications that are not tobacco industry linked. Potential alternative inhaled medications are set out, which are likely to be equally effective for most patients. A consideration of beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and distributive justice demonstrates strong ethical reasons to support switching away from the prescription of tobacco industry linked products.
辉瑞收购专注吸入式药物的医疗保健公司 Vectura 引发了严重的伦理问题。欧洲呼吸学会指出，“由于涉及伦理问题，医疗专业人员将避免开任何使烟草行业受益的公司的药物”。慢性阻塞性肺疾病（COPD）和哮喘患者也不愿使用估计每年至少导致 100 万人死亡的公司的盈利药物。我们讨论了将患有肺部疾病的患者改用与烟草行业无关的吸入式药物的实际问题。列出了潜在的替代吸入式药物，这些药物对大多数患者可能同样有效。从有利、不伤害、自主和分配公正的角度考虑，有充分的伦理理由支持停止使用与烟草行业相关的产品。
