Medicamento

179

Medicamen to s , comunicação e cultura Drugs, communication, and cultu re

Marilene Ca bral do Nascimento 1

1 Me s trado em Sa ú de da Fa m í l i a , Un iversidade Estácio de Sá, Unesa. Rua do Riachu elo 27, Lapa, 20230-010, Rio de Janei roRJ. mnascimento @ s ky. com . br

Abstract Chemical dru gs sign ed a revol u tion in pu blic health activities and in med i cine pra cti ce , reached hegemony in the contemporary therapeutic and, sym b ol i c a lly, went beyond the boundary of a thera peutic instrument. Pre sently, they are consu m ed with the purpose of shaping the body or the beh avior to esthetic and co n du ct rigid pa tterns settled in the contem porary culture. The analysis of 237 articles from mass circulation newspa per and magazines, concerning some of the more merch a n d i sed pharm a ceu tics industry drugs in Bra z i l , reve a l ed a distantness tendency betwe en dru gs co n su m ption and medical cultu re . In these articles, the discourse which favo rs the drugs co n su m ption was ch a racterized for the association of scientific info rmation’s with power, beauty, youth and strength symbols, su s t a i n edon and in the same time re-forcing dominants values in culture, as individualism, competition and consumption. Drugs risks were em p h a s i zed in 55% of the arti cl e s , in a discou rse accen ting individual auto n o my and responsibly in the drugs co n su m ption and its risks. The ask to dominant esthetic and conduct patterns plus the increase risks divulgation tends to dislocate drugs from the field of cure and health to the co n trol and risks, signalizing its re-signification in the thera peu tic and culture. Key word s Drugs, Therapeutic, Risks, Communication, Culture

Resumo Medicamentos de base química assinalaram uma revolução nas atividades de saúde pública e no ex erc í cio da med i ci n a , alcançando lugar hegemônico na terapêutica contemporânea. A análise de 237 repo rtagens veiculadas nas décadas de 1980 e