Content advisory 18+ Restricting something just for the apparent sake restricting it is usually a bad idea, though not an uncommon practice among bureaucrats and fools (if by that we are not talking about the same thing-Eric). But putting shackles on the importing of vital medicine is a treason by definition -- insofar as it represents a willful act of sabotaging the best interests of the nation, in this case, what is presumably its most valuable resource (unless you an ordinary Russian citizen):) its people.
One may say that foreign imports should be replaced with local production, but this simply doesn't work in some cases. So if we speak of medicine, we might well have a situation where a foreign drug which has been thoroughly tested in Germany, Israel or France could be made available to Russian people, and where no present equivalent exists in Russia. The foreign drug could be a life-saver, but the zombies in authority say “No! -- this is not PATRIOTIC!” So the sufferer has a choice, pay for a visa and go to Germany. Or: take some toxic formula which is not only inferior but possibly lethal. I should know. Hello Germany.
It is not as simple as with chicken. You can't just produce something and insist that it is going to work. There are tests to be made, and in order to do everything properly and guarantee that you are not endangering people or their genome with your latest wonder drug, a window of five years at least is what is called for.
Usually, people just do not understand the process between initial production and the moment when they start popping the pills. Well, maybe we should test newly-produced (and newly-designed) tablets and capsules on those who create restrictions and spare the poor rabbits and rats? In the meantime -- while Russian companies struggle to productive first- rate drugs for sick people and during the time when they have not been tested comprehensively enough to sign off on -- the foreign imports should be welcomed -- not discouraged or forbidden.
Those who are interested in facts (as I am) can check the list of vital medicine produced by the World Health Organization (and don't try to sell me the crap about how they sold their souls to some super government or superpower).
Let's go case by case.
HIV. Each day 80 Russians die because of it. It is more than average death from terrorist attacks per year. The striking fact is that in many Central African countries the situation is better. So, we have an epidemic here. Next thing is that the best medicine that can help people with this disease to live better and longer is not being produced here, it is just starting to be produced and I found no proof of non-human testing or any other relevant information about it (someone may say that I should look better or give a relevant link in comments, that actually would be great).
Diabetes. About ten millions of Russians are registered diabetics (many prefer to avoid that in order to prevent unfair treatment on job, etc.). The only producer of high-quality insulin in russia is a company from France - Sanofi. I don't know what is the current situation with Novo-Nordisk factory, but what I do know is that restrictions on import and on foreign presence in Russia shall affect millions of diabetics, causing them to use lower-quality medicine, which could be a bit hepatotoxic (damage liver in long-term due to the lack of purification) Oh, and don't forget that almost all glucometers are internationally produced.
Parkinson's disease. There are at least 210 000 people diagnosed (!) in Russia, with main medicine producers from Israel, Hungary, USA. To clarify the statistics I should stress that this disease is less spread in the countries with lower life expectancy, because it usually appears after 60+, so no direct comparison should be made.
I won't go that deep in ED (erection disorders), but please bear in mind, my male readers, that most of this medicine is being produced outside of Russia, just like many vaccines, anti-cholesterol drugs, etc.
For those who think that it is easy to steal production process, I again stress the fact that it is not as simple as chicken growing (even chicken growing is not that simple, and I'm not even touching the theme of beef or cheese production here), as medicine is way more complex. Usually, only 10% or produced medicine pass clinical testing, and avoidance of these necessary avenues for creating a safe “living space” for those needing serious medication are making you, yes YOU, the very hamsters, rats, rabbits, or whatever scientists usually use to perform test on (never the authorities themselves, of course).
So, what's about illegal human testing, which will happen in our case in this situation (or people would be just left to die, virtually restricting access to something already created to save them)?
How do you think that should be considered?
I think that it is treason against the country, against own people, and against humanity. Terminal Treason.
===Artem Kovalev===
