Steve Irons (Swan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the Chair of the Standing Committee on Health and Ageing for tabling the report on the roundtable forum on impotence medications in Australia, and as deputy chair I would like to add some comments. I would like to start by thanking everyone who was involved in the report. I thank the member for Hindmarsh, who was also the committee chair, the member for Kingston and the secretariat. They were particularly helpful on the day of the forum and assisted me greatly in my role as acting chair of the roundtable. I would also like to thank all the groups and businesses who attended and made submissions on this important issue. They are too numerous to mention, but it was a good representation of the medical, pharmaceutical and health services across Australia.

Erectile dysfunction is an important issue to discuss because it affects millions of Australians across the country. The committee heard in a submission how a 2003 survey found that 80 per cent of men were worried about developing erectile dysfunction compared to 57 per cent of men who were concerned about developing prostate cancer. Yet, because of our cultural sensitivities, it is a topic that is rarely discussed in the public domain—but it is heavily advertised by radio and public billboards. I think not only has this probably discouraged discussion but it appears to have stifled discussion by those who suffer from this condition. Individuals have found it easier to speak to someone on the phone rather than have face-to-face contact with a GP or with family or friends.

This roundtable forum provided a chance to shed some light on the issue and provide some overdue public scrutiny of the practices of the industry. This is an industry that needs scrutiny. Any industry that sources its income by playing on the fears and insecurities of people about facing their problems through a normal health consultation deserves scrutiny.

There are two particular sections of the report that I would like to discuss with the House today. The first refers to the concern about the fact that many men with erectile dysfunction use the commercial sector rather than traditional GPs to obtain treatment. Erectile dysfunction is usually linked to ageing, but in some circumstances it is linked to other phenomena such as cardiovascular disease. Such symptoms may not be picked up in the commercial sector through a phone call. The commercial sector will not necessarily pick up on these important health issues, whereas a GP will. Although organisations such as AMI insist that they encourage customers to visit their GP, the fact is that many patients do not, perhaps because of embarrassment about the condition and because they think solving their issue over the telephone will be easier. I am sure I speak for the committee when I stress how important it is that anyone with erectile dysfunction go to a GP first, before approaching the commercial sector.

The second issue I want to discuss relates to a practice known as compounding, a practice which the AMI undertake. I do not know of other companies in the industry who do this, but AMI were the only company that were prepared to come forward and contribute to the forum, and I do thank them for that. Under the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989, it is an offence to import, export, manufacture or supply a therapeutic good unless it is included in the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods. Medicines on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods are subject to clinical tests and controls. There are a number of exceptions relating to this law. I commend this report to the House.

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