In April this year, developed countries faced shortages of a variety of products. Supermarket shelves were empty of toilet papers. The reason was hoarding, rather than increased use, of toilet paper rolls. Demand for hand sanitisers, masks, bottled water, thermometers suddenly shot up. They were out of stock at different times. One more product has been frequently in short supply.
Antacids.
*****
Heartburn occurs when acid in the stomach flows up
into the esophagus (food pipe) and causes pain that moves from the stomach to
the chest. For a variety of symptoms such as heartburn, acid reflux,
indigestion, gases, bloating, stomach ulcers and gastritis; antacids are offered
as a medical remedy. They contain calcium, magnesium, aluminum salts which work
to neutralize the acids in the stomach. Antacids are sold in a variety of forms
– tablets, liquids or chewable gummies. Gelusil, Eno, Gaviscon (India), Tums,
Pepcid and Famotidine (USA) are well known antacid brands.
What causes heartburn or acidity? The list is long:
Fried and fatty foods. Acidic foods (like lemons or tomatoes). Chocolate.
Alcohol. Peppermint. Caffeine. Sodas (carbonated drinks). Acidic juices. Table
salt. Spicy food.
In short, any food and drink we love is liable to give
us some form of acidity, indigestion or heartburn. Mental stress can also cause
all of these symptoms.
*****
In April, as we all remember, the world was frantically
conducting studies to find out what may work against the coronavirus. In a hospital,
a set of researchers administered nine times the usual dose of famotidine
(antacid) intravenously to covid patients. All 187 patients were in a critical
stage. The crude study found out that covid-19 patients on famotidine were
dying at a rate of 14%, those without at 27%. After the news of the study
became public, American pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS sold all antacid
stocks within two days.
Before that, on 1 April, FDA banned Ranitidine,
popularly known as Zantac. It was an easy to buy, over the counter drug. Investigation
showed it can cause cancer if stored for a long time before consumption. Americans
were asked not to buy Zantac, and throw away whatever stocks they had at home.
Over the next few months, the pandemic stress grew. Diet
composition changed dramatically. Working from home and little exercise meant extra
kilos that caused heartburn and acid reflux. Under depression and a cloud of
fear, people who could afford it increased the consumption of booze, sweets,
comfort food, takeaway pizzas and fizzy drinks. Johnson & Johnson, makers
of Pepcid, confirmed sales of Tylenol, Pepcid and other antacids grew by 30%.
*****
India is known as the pharmacy to the world. Antacid
tablets are unusually cheap – one US dollar can buy 200 tablets in India. Sun Pharma, Cadila, Torrent sell about 70 million
tablets annually. Thanks to Trump who was busy advertising a variety of quack
treatments, India managed to produce and export large quantities of hydroxychloroquine
(now rejected by both FDA and WHO), paracetamol and famotidine. In October,
when Trump was infected, White House confirmed he was taking famotidine along
with Zinc and Vitamin D. After that announcement the sales and shortages of
famotidine suddenly grew. (Don’t forget 74 million Americans voted for Trump).
*****
The November elections caused unbearable stress and
fear about Trump not winning (Trump supporters) and fear about Trump winning
(Biden supporters). With the winter wave in North America and Europe, stress
levels are sufficiently high for antacids to be out of stock once again.
*****
Antacids may have only a short-term effect. Several
stomach discomforts are aggravated by continuously thinking about them. In my
view, it is better to accept the reality of the pandemic stress and lifestyle, learn
to live with the heartburn, rather than get addicted to any form of antacids.
Ravi
No comments:
Post a Comment