Transcript Improve_Consumer_Pro.. - Center for Ethics of Science and

Improve “Consumer
Protection” with Buddhist
Ethics: Necessity, Possibility
and Challenge
Suntharee T. Chaisumritchoke
Objectives
• To explain the key concept of
protection in the Buddhist approach
• To apply the Buddhist concepts to be
another model for health and drug
consumer protection
• To compare the Buddhist model with
an existing consumer protection model
Rationale
• Thai Consumer Protection on Health and Drug
is based on a western model,
• When I say consumer protection you may
think of these things :
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Consumer rights
Legal enforcement
Consumer education
Health care experts
Consumers
Producers
Regulators
Problems remaining:
• Thai consumers have faced
substandard, unsafe, expensive
pharmaceuticals and health care
products,
 Why our control system is not adequate
to prevent health consumers from these
risky products.
 It is more interesting when unsafe drug
was often found even in the USA and
Europe, Vioxx , for an example.
A Basic Consumer Protection Model
Regulators
Producers
Consumers
interest Group
Risky Ads!
Counterfeit medicine is so
harmful to death, called the
FDA at 1556
With our concern from THAI
FDA and sponsored by
PFIZER
The US Drug Company who
sell VIAGRA
Announcing the 2nd Annual Bitter Pill Awards: Exposing Drug Company
Manipulation of Consumers, April 26, 2006 at www.bitterpillawards.org
www.bitterpillawards.org
Sign up to participate in the national teleconference announcing the awards
Consumer Protection
Concepts
Consumer Protection Concepts
• Organizations
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
• Department of Medical Sciences
• Law and Regulation
• Drug and Food law, Consumer protection law
• The Consumer Rights and Patient Rights and
…
• The Principle of Biomedical Ethics
• Autonomy, Beneficence or Do no harm, Justice
• Now…Good Governance, Evidence base
medicines, Conflict of Interest, etc…
The Four Consumer Rights
• Right to information
BUY PRODUCTS
WISELY
• Right to choices
• Right to safety
• Right to be heard and
redress
IF YOU FIND ANY
PROBLEMS, DO NOT
WORRY, JUST…
BUY SERVICES
FROM LAWERS
WISELY
What Consumer Protection Model propose
Regulators
Negotiation
(but…equally ?)
Consumers
Producers
We are all competitors in a capitalist world
EVERYONE IS SELF INTERESTED AND WILL PROTECT ONE’S INTEREST
What Consumer Protection Model propose
• A Good Producer :
• comply with law and regulations
• quality assurance by scientific standard
• An Active Consumer :
• protect by their rights
• More information
• A Good Regulator :
• responsibility for duty
• competent with scientific & legal
knowledge
• A consumer protection model implies that the
consumers would be happy if they could
consume more and more…the happiness is
based on consumerism.
Buddhist Concepts
Buddhism and Health
• True Nature of Life:
• Birth Ageing Pain and Death
• Medical knowledge and Technology,
Medicines or Pharmaceutical products,
Health Food could help us for what we
desire, but it is just a period, not forever to
overcome the true nature of life.
• Unfortunately, we often misunderstand this
concept. It becomes the starting point of
delusion in several forms.
• Do not distort this truth.
Buddhist Concepts
• The Three Universal Characteristics of Life/
Phenomena
• Impermanence or Anicca , Conflict of
contradiction or Dukkha, No-self or Anatta
• The Four Noble Truth
• Dukkha, cause of Dukkha, freedom from
Dukkha and noble eightfold path for practice
or middle way
• The Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path
• Right speech
• Right action
• Right livelihood
• Right effort
• Right mindfulness
• Right concentration
Insight wisdom
or “Panna”
Morality
or “Sila”
Concentration
or “Samadhi”
Mind Development
• Right understanding
• Right thought
• Right understanding
• Right thought
Insight wisdom
or “Panna”
• Right speech
• Right action
• Right livelihood
Morality
or “Sila”
• Right effort
• Right mindfulness
• Right concentration
Concentration
or “Samadhi”
THREE LAYERS OF
HAPPINESS
The Noble Eightfold Path
Three Levels Of Happiness
• First level :
• Happiness due to morality or “Sila”
• Second level :
• Happiness due to mindfulness or Sati
and with Concentration or “Samadhi”
• Third level :
• Happiness due to insight wisdom or
“Panna”
A Buddhist
Model
Regulators
Sila
Mindfulness and
Panna
COMPASSION
Consumers
Producers
We are all Friends who have same fate of “Dhukkha”
EVERYONE IS interconnected AND "By protecting oneself
(e.g., morally), one protects others; by protecting others, one
protects oneself."
A Buddhist Model
• Good Producers :
• comply with Morality or Sila
• quality assurance by goodness and “Karma”
• Active Consumers :
• mind analysis
• protect by mindfulness and “Panna”
• Good Regulators :
• competent with dharma knowledge,
“Dhukkha” and how to manage “Dhukkha” in
particular
• responsibility to life
Conclusion
• The existing model is based on how
strong you are and how much you can
take from the society for yourself.
• The Buddhist model is based on how
weak you and others are and how much
you can do to help yourself and others.
Which model do you like, the existing
or the Buddhist one ? WHY?
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION
AND COMMENTS