Hits & Misses #2 – 2009/5/27
Who needs pharmacists? Vending machines are less hassle.
Brain surgery on YouTube. It’s not for the squeamish.
Health Care Policy and Reform Insights | NCPA
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Recognition and Awards
Who needs pharmacists? Vending machines are less hassle.
Brain surgery on YouTube. It’s not for the squeamish.
Agree with you on watching the brain surgery. It’s definitely not for the squeamish.
Agree with Joe. But I really like the idea of a vending machine for prescription drugs. Hard to see how that is practical though.
Vending machines might be more efficient, but they do come with safety concerns,
“In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), seven soda can vending machine manufacturers are announcing an industry-wide warning label campaign to alert consumers that death or injury may result from rocking or tilting soda can vending machines.
In 1995, CPSC received reports of at least two consumers who died and one who was severely injured after the soda machines they were rocking fell on them. CPSC is aware of at least 37 deaths and 113 injuries since 1978 that have resulted from consumers rocking or tilting the machines in an attempt to obtain free soda or money.”
Obviously, vending machines need to have a warning label: Do not shake, rattle or roll.
Becker and Posner both make a very strong, and unwarranted, assumption: that people will substitute, willy-nilly, sugary drinks for sugary food. This seems improbable at best. Sugary drinks are obtained from different sources (e.g., vending machines) and to satisfy different desires (e.g., quenching thirst). Without such an assumption, the arguments of both Becker and Posner fall apart.