We have compared the reliability of the information about drug therapy and pregnancy retrieved by interviewing patients with that distilled from pharmacy records. In the initial phase of each interview we used the internationally accepted open-ended technique, and extended this with an indication-oriented set of questions and then a set of specific drug-oriented questions. These data were then compared with those from pharmacy records on dispensing for the same patients during their pregnancy. The results suggest that if drug consumption during pregnancy is evaluated by interview, one should not restrict oneself to open-ended questions but should include indication-oriented and, when appropriate, drug-oriented questions. Such specific questions offer the opportunity of detecting the use of over-the-counter medication and of constructing drug use/complaint profiles. By contrast, pharmacy records will give better information in case of long recall periods and in patients with multiple and/or repeated drug use. Investigators should use the complementary elements of both techniques where appropriate.

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A World Health Organisation (European Regional Office) working party has been established to review the progress of clinical pharmacology in European countries. As part of this review a questionnaire on the teaching of clinical pharmacology was sent to the Deans of all 350 medical schools in the region. Very few replies were received from U.S.S.R., Greece and Portugal and these countries' returns were not analysed further. The overall compliance rate (excluding these countries) was 82% with a figure of 84% from Western Europe and 74% from Eastern Europe. An average time of 96 h (range 0-320) was devoted to pharmacology teaching in the medical curriculum in Western Europe with 124 (0-240) h in Eastern Europe. In contrast 28 h (0-210) was devoted to clinical pharmacology teaching in Western Europe and 27 h (0-90) in Eastern Europe. On average in Western Europe each medical school had 2 individuals trained in clinical pharmacology with 1.3 posts in the subject and the figures for Eastern Europe were 2.3 and 1.1 respectively. However these figures hide a wide variance in the teaching of clinical pharmacology. Particularly in Western Europe there are a number of medical schools in Italy, Spain and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) where clinical pharmacology is not taught and there is a dearth of individuals trained in the subject. Every effort to encourage clinical pharmacology and its teaching should be made, particularly in these countries.

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It is difficult to determine when drug regulation began. The idea that some kind of control is necessary is very old indeed; it was many centuries ago that apothecaries were first accused of paternalism and secrecy, and it was just as long ago that they found arguments to present their case as guardians of the public interest. It was at least three centuries ago that regulations on the sale of opiates were first devised in order to protect the ignorant, the reckless, and the exploited.