Public acceptance of drug use for non-disease conditions.

OBJECTIVE This article deals with the issue of ordinary healthy people using drugs to improve or enhance non-disease conditions. The objective is to illuminate the extent of public acceptance of this practice. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS The results are based on two studies: a classically structured telephone interview with 961 Danes in 1999 and an Internet questionnaire survey of 2735 Danes in 2003. The two studies cannot be compared due to differences in recruitment and methodology. RESULTS Based on basic descriptive statistics, the studies show substantial public acceptance of the use of drugs for non-disease conditions. Men in particular look favourably on the use of drugs by healthy individuals. People with less education find this type of drug use unacceptable to a greater extent than those with more education, who are more positive. If we look at political affiliation, a pattern emerges. People who did not vote or voted for one of the left-wing parties are less likely to accept this type of drug use. The extent to which people work with drugs professionally does not seem to influence the extent to which they are positive or negative about this type of drug use. CONCLUSION The implications of this development encompass a wide range of concerns, from the individual risk of side effects to general issues concerning the prioritisation of health care resources. The results need more attention, including further studies, professional consideration and health policy decisions.