I guess one would expect the chief executive of the ABPI to respond by denying everything. But it is really very condescending to Dr McCartney to suggest that her criticisms are based on mere "fashion". The evidence for malfeasance is given by the truckload in Ben Goldacre's recent book, Bad Pharma

One anecdote in McCartney's article was particularly fascinating.

Shopping last month, I was handed leaflets from a stall demanding “awareness” about restless legs, suggesting I could get treatment from my GP. The same week a drug representative tried to gain access to my practice to “educate” me on treatments.

This appears to be just another bit of disease-mongering -pushing ineffective drugs for made-up diseases. Perhaps Stephen Whitehead could tell us if it was just a coincidence?

Competing interests: None declared