In lack of a health care plan and in need of a doctor – it’s a situation that many Americans have to face daily. The dramatic factor increases when the patient is your child, also without any insurance. Your income is not nearly enough to cover prescription drugs, not to mention any hospital bills. What’s left for you to do? – accept free drug samples to live.

A recently conducted study on the dangers and benefits of free drug samples had scientists conclude that they are of little help to the needy and even endanger the health and lives of children. The study was based on a 2004 survey, pertaining to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The survey asked respondents under what conditions they were administered free drug samples.

The final analysis of the survey showed that children from both upper and lower classes had the same odds at receiving the samples. This result, however, was mostly influenced by the fact that children from poorer families rarely get the chance to see (or be seen by) a doctor. When comparing the results concerning the time after entering a doctor’s office, it was concluded that poorer kids had more chances to be given free drug samples than the children from richer families.

The problems with the samples occur when they are recalled or pulled from the markets because of side effects. Such was the case on Elidel, a treatment for eczema, given to almost 40,000 children younger than 24 months. Some of them children given Elidel later developed skin cancer. No clear link has yet been proven, but the drug’s label clearly warned against administration in children under the age of 2. Other drugs that shared Elidel’s fate were Advair (asthma treatment) and Adderall and Strattera – for ADD. They were all recalled by the FDA and were declared in need of more serious and effective safety warnings.

Although some lobbyists want free samples banned, doctors say that if administered correctly and with care, they not only help or cure the children, but they help the parents see whether or not a drug is effective before buying it.

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