There is growing concern, world-over on participation of young children in television shows. In India, as on today, the things are in very bad shape. Dance-based reality shows – typically Dance India Dance Lil. Masters (Zee TV) and Boogie Woogie Kids Champianship (Sony), are the shows showing kids under tremendous pressure to perform. There are many other similar shows in regional languages. Remember the government recently decided not to have exams for kids so that they should not be under exam stress. But the stress levels experienced by the kids in these reality shows are so high that soon the children may turn out to be mental wrecks. Thanks to the TV channels which ruthlessly exploit the kids for TRPs.
The kids are made to under go grueling routines practices; face harsh, ill-planned verdicts from judges; trained to misbehave; undergo constant fear of being eliminated from the shows and sexual gestures and body movements with sexual overtones! The kids may not even know the meaning of such pelvic thrusts! They are only kids and you just watch - what are the things they are forced to undergo on the stage! The children are made to live in fool's paradise. This is open child labour.
In the Lil Masters show, kids are made to dance so violently, often using dangerous tools/chemical that we are surprised why the government and women’s organizations are not intervening in the matter. There are hardly any laws in India to regulate such shows. Self regulation seems to be not in existence. God save the kids.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Unholy, unethical and unhealthy practice – gifts for doctors
For years now, some Pharma companies follow unhealthy tactics to get doctors promote their medicines – unethical marketing of drugs. As on today, in India there is so-called voluntary code designed to prevent companies from providing incentives like vacations in India and abroad and other freebies to influence their prescribing behaviour. Everyone know that self regulation doesn’t work in India. These marketing techniques result in high cost o the medicines; desirable prescription of generic medicines is over-looked; unnecessary and harmful prescription of new medicines by doctors, negligence of poor patients by the doctors, etc. There are other issues such as: clinical trials of new drugs with fudged data, counterfeit drugs, unnecessary referrals to super specialists and for tests involving radiation exposures such as MRI, CT scans, X-ray examination, etc for kick-back considerations. The practice is further encouraged by the fact that employers/insurance companies foot the bills of the middle class.
In country like India, where the public health care is pathetic and majority of the lower and lower middle class are not covered under any schemes for paying for health care, it is the prime responsibility of the government to bring in stringent legislation proving heavy penalties, to curb this unethical marketing of medicines. Though, there is ban on doctors accepting freebies since the beginning of this year imposed by the Medical Council of India, which became infamous with corruption at the highest level, nothing seems to change. Nobody cares! Nobody to take action on the violators!
Today, July 1 is the Doctors’ Day and do you care?
In country like India, where the public health care is pathetic and majority of the lower and lower middle class are not covered under any schemes for paying for health care, it is the prime responsibility of the government to bring in stringent legislation proving heavy penalties, to curb this unethical marketing of medicines. Though, there is ban on doctors accepting freebies since the beginning of this year imposed by the Medical Council of India, which became infamous with corruption at the highest level, nothing seems to change. Nobody cares! Nobody to take action on the violators!
Today, July 1 is the Doctors’ Day and do you care?
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