4.3 Article

Environmental sustainability and the carbon emissions of pharmaceuticals

Journal

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL ETHICS
Volume 48, Issue 5, Pages 334-337

Publisher

BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP
DOI: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106842

Keywords

ethics; environmental Ethics; public health ethics; drugs and drug industry

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The US healthcare industry is estimated to emit 479 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, with hospital care, clinical services, medical structures, and pharmaceuticals being the top emitters. Research has primarily focused on medical structures and equipment in terms of carbon emissions, with more recent attention being given to hospital care and clinical services. However, pharmaceutical carbon emissions have been understudied, and this article will examine the factors contributing to it.
The US healthcare industry emits an estimated 479 million tonnes of carbon dioxide each year; nearly 8% of the country's total emissions. When assessed by sector, hospital care, clinical services, medical structures, and pharmaceuticals are the top emitters. For 15 years, research has been dedicated to the medical structures and equipment that contribute to carbon emissions. More recently, hospital care and clinical services have been examined. However, the carbon of pharmaceuticals is understudied. This article will focus on the carbon emissions of pharmaceuticals since they are consistently calculated to be among the top contributors to healthcare carbon and assess the factors that contribute to pharmaceutical carbon emissions. Specifically, overprescription, pharmaceutical waste, antibiotic resistance, routine prescriptions, non-adherence, drug dependency, lifestyle prescriptions, and drugs given due to a lack of preventive healthcare will be identified. Prescribing practices have environmental ramifications. Carbon reduction, when focused on pharmaceuticals, can lead to cleaner, more sustainable healthcare.

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