OPINION

Cheaper treatment

Re: "Cancer patients are dying to survive", (Commentary, Feb 7).

Lung and other cancer patients may watch Dr John Campbell's YouTube VDO titled "Research opportunities" and "Turbo cancers and repurposed drugs, Dr Makis". The last VDO discusses repurposed drug treatments with Dr Makis (MD, oncologist and cancer researcher).

Here is an opportunity for cancer patients to unite themselves to push for a public policy change for affordable drugs instead of being fleeced by big pharma and bankrupted. Robert F Kennedy has been confirmed as the health secretary of Trump's administration; hopefully, he will initiate more research on these (cheap) treatments and allow (terminal) patients the right to try treatments with repurposed/generic drugs.

Other countries will follow in due course because their healthcare systems are currently burdened by too expensive treatments.

The art of spin

Re: "It's their job!", (PostBag, Feb, 3).

Tarquin Chufflebottom imagines I tried "to gloss over the chaos caused by Donald Trump's ambiguous and ill-advised freeze on federal spending, and instead criticised the press for reporting it". What I criticise is the "ill-advised and ambiguous" part that merely echoes mainstream media in habitually and strategically conflating opinion, gossip, and innuendo with news reporting. Unfortunately, Chufflebottom seems confined to an echo chamber and can only repeat one channel at a time.

If President Trump's fiscal reforms are met with "howls of derision from the people charged with managing federal funding", as Chufflebottom's echoes suggest, the press should report on the mismanagement of the federal budget, which has amassed a public debt of US$35 trillion (1.2 quadrillion baht) as well as the opposition from those being held responsible. Journalists who report the news should abide by unbiased full disclosure, provide adequate context, and do so with integrity.

I'm merely critical of the decline in honest reporting epitomised by the phrases, "it's safe and effective", "the oceans are boiling", and former White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre's classic, "no 'coverup' of mental decline".

Drop job barriers

Re: "Cops nab Chinese 'tour guide'", (BP, Feb 8).

Laws reserving certain professions for Thais should be revised to serve the country's long-term development. A short-term reservation period to bring Thais up to speed in a given livelihood is fine, but after that, we should compete in the international market.

Nobody wants to break the law. For instance, hiring Chinese-speaking Thai guides for Chinese tourists is cheaper than importing guides, and Thais have far better local knowledge than foreigners, increasing customer satisfaction. However, since the law reserves this occupation for Thais, many of us lazily didn't bother to learn our customers' language. So tour firms often have to bring in illegal Chinese guides and hire Thais for decoration. These unnecessary costs must be passed on to tourists, reducing visitor headcount and funds we'd love to have spent here.

Instead of limiting ourselves, we should reserve occupations for only, say, two years, then compete in all areas not related to national security.

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