Prescription Drugs

Each volume of the Facts On File Library in a Book series is carefully designed to be a first-stop research source on important current issues. Written clearly and carefully so that even the most complex aspects of the topic are easily understandable, the books give the reader the essential information to begin work, plus the research tools needed to delve more deeply into the issues. Each book includes a history of the subject, biographical information on important figures in the field, a complete annotated bibliography, and a carefully designed index---everything the researcher needs to get down to work.

Prescription drugs help people manage medical conditions such as severe depression, high blood pressure, asthma, arthritis, and diabetes. But are prescription drugs getting to the people who need them most? Drug companies price new prescription drugs at levels beyond the reach of many patients. On the other hand, are prescription drugs being overprescribed and overused? Pharmaceutical companies have increased demand for their products by advertising to patients and marketing to the physicians who prescribe drugs---practices that critics condemn. The more prescription drugs a person takes, the more likely the drugs will interact in ways that harm health. Certain prescription drugs are also subject to abuse. Errors in prescribing are another hazard, and even legitimate prescription drugs have recently been subject to recalls due to contamination. Prescription Drugs, a new volume in the Library in a Book series, acquaints readers with controversies over popular prescription drugs and shows how Americans have attempted to balance the goals of access and safety.

Fred C. Pampel holds a B.A., an M.A., and a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. He is currently a professor of sociology and a research associate of the Institute of Behavior Science at the University of Colorado, Boulder. His research has focused on topics of population aging, inequality, health, and social policy. Pampel has published 14 books for undergraduate and scholarly audiences and more than 60 articles in the nation's top scholarly presses and social science journals. For Facts On File, he is the author of Racial Profiling, Threats to Food Safety, Drugs and Sports, Disaster Response, Rights of the Elderly, and Tobacco Industry and Smoking, Revised Edition, all in the Library in a Book series.