BMJ  2004;328:770 (27 March), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7442.770-a

Letter

Medicine's weapons of mass destruction come in human form

EDITOR—In his Soundings article on weapons of mass destruction Loefler uses few words to say much.¹ He says that now the biological enemy is microscopic and submicroscopic. However, when talking of weapons of mass destruction, we should give credit where credit is due.

Our real enemies are the powers that aim to make us dependent: the merchants who try to sell health care as a proactive entity rather than a reactive one. They offer free examinations, and they manipulate long established laboratory measurements, all in the name of more profit. They go hunting for potential new patients and persuade them that they need treatment or "preventive" measures. They deliver "health care" to the eager, brainwashed consumer like the milkman delivers milk. But they often come empty handed. They do not owe you anything, but they promise much.

Weapons of mass destruction are hard to find in Iraq: in modern medicine they are abundant (if cosmetically enhanced).

8 Casuarina Street, Bellara, Bribie Island, QLD 4507, Australia drhhnehrlich{at}westnet.com.au

---

Competing interests: None declared.

References

1. Loefler I. Weapons of mass destruction. BMJ 2004;328: 531. (28 February.)[Free Full Text]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Weapons of mass destruction

Imre Loefler
BMJ 2004 328: 531. [Extract] [Full Text]