Prescriptions for Death

Prescriptions for Death: The Drugging of the Third World is a compelling exposé of the pharmaceutical industry’s ethical failings and regulatory loopholes that disproportionately affect developing nations. Authors Milton Silverman, Philip R. Lee, and Mia Lydecker critically examine how multinational drug companies exploit weaker regulatory systems in the Global South, promoting medicines with exaggerated claims of efficacy while concealing serious risks. They reveal the troubling double standards in drug marketing: while developed nations enforce strict safety and efficacy regulations, many Third World countries remain vulnerable to misleading advertising, bribery, and the sale of ineffective or even dangerous pharmaceuticals.

This book is more than just an indictment of corporate malfeasance—it is a call for systemic change in global healthcare policy. The authors argue that international accountability, ethical regulation, and medical-scientific oversight are crucial to protecting vulnerable populations. Prescriptions for Death presents meticulous research, case studies, and firsthand accounts from healthcare professionals, government officials, and industry insiders to document the scale of the crisis. Thought-provoking and rigorously argued, this book is essential reading for policymakers, healthcare advocates, and anyone concerned with the intersection of public health and corporate responsibility in the developing world.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1982.