Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
2.2.3 Thefutureoflifestylemedicines
This question of inequalities in healthcare will be important when
more stem cell technologies start to enter the market, precisely
because more government investment in the emerging possibilities of
stem cell science firmly fits the biomedical model of healthcare. Yet
the evidence suggests that current inequalities in access to healthcare
will only be exacerbated by the new stem cell technologies, with the
poor missing out as usual and the rich gaining access to such
technologies effectively on demand. While stem cell and other forms
of medical tourism are the obvious example of how those with
money can afford to pay for the treatment they desire, another
scenario is that obtaining the latest stem cell treatments will become
something of a lifestyle choice.
Lifestyle is now a concept that is widely used to explain the
conscious desire to live in a certain way (Featherstone, 1987). Where
historically lifestyle has traditionally been associated with certain
status groups, within contemporary consumer culture, lifestyle refers
to the deliberate choices made in selecting products for consumption,
with individuals acutely aware of how their personal consumer
choices reflect their identities (Featherstone, 1987). Significantly, the
kinds of choices people make in order to reflect their lifestyles are as
much a function of social power as they are of economic power
(Featherstone, 1987). Having sufficient funds to buy certain luxury
goods is only one aspect of the social dimensions of lifestyle.
'Lifestyle drugs' are similarly related to the idea of self-conscious
consumption in order to reflect a certain kind of identity (Lexchin,
2006). Related to the concept of 'disease mongering' mentioned
previously, 'lifestyle drugs' are described as drugs that are prescribed
for conditions traditionally regarded as normal aspects of human
nature (Lexchin, 2006). Drugs for shyness, baldness, pre-menstrual
tension, alertfulness and so on are increasingly becoming widely
available to consumers in the industrialized world (Lexchin, 2006).
Viagra is one example of a drug that is advertised and sold to people
as a means of bolstering social status (Lexchin, 2006). Some
commentators argue that an essential component of the marketing
of lifestyle drugs is that the definition of illness be expanded to
