TORONTO—A B.C.-based drug policy researcher warns that exaggerating symptoms, a phenomenon he says has become more common, could lead to the overprescription of medications and cause unnecessary harms and side effects.
Drug policy researcher Alan Cassels called this type of exaggeration “disease mongering,” while speaking at an Oct. 3 conference hosted by the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine (ISOM) in Toronto.
Cassels, who is also the author of several books and is based in Victoria, said that sometimes symptoms people experience in everyday life, such as restlessness, sadness, and menopause, are viewed as problems that need to be fixed with medication, while there may be better options….