Recently, Dr Helen Salisbury, shared in her BMJ perspective some personal thoughts on the influence of industry on human health [please note: Dr Salisbury was considering industry-influence at its widest level, more than ‘just’ the pharmaceutical industry].
At the time of writing, Dr Salisbury said: “I’m not sure who will be health secretary when this column is published, but it would be great if they stopped listening to industry”. Dr Salisbury concluded: “The only logical explanation for inaction is that the companies profiting have undue influence.”
It is a worry then that not all take this matter seriously. For example, Professor Robert Howard, Consultant psychiatrist, has described campaigning for full transparency as a “misguided pursuit“.
