THE hormone wars are hotting up as another book, The Menopause Industry, joins the ranks of the contras. Sandra Coney, a journalist and women鈥檚 health activist from New Zealand, has written a well-researched attack on hormone replacement therapy, or HRT.
Resisting the temptation to see oestrogen as a panacea for 鈥渙lder women鈥檚 problems鈥�, Coney astutely connects the rise and rise of HRT with the growth of the now-mighty pharmaceuticals industry. Documenting the hype given to hormones since the Second World War, she points out that would-be consumers were, and are, 鈥渦nlikely to be told of the absence of adequate trials or of any controversy about using the drugs鈥�. The 鈥渉ormone apostles鈥�, she says, now 鈥渁rgue that all women must be given a choice to use oestrogen, as if it were akin to a cosmetic, a new curtain material or a brand of petfood, not a potent steroidal prescription drug with unknown long-term risks鈥�.
Coney also examines the pros and cons of breast and cervical screening. And it is here that she makes a strong case for supplying better consumer information. 鈥淭he ethical issues raised by screening well women can only be resolved by ensuring that women are fully aware of the benefits and risks,鈥� she argues.
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