The first known use of the term ‘pharmaceuticalization’ was in the Hindustan Times in 1986. This was picked up by the anthropologist, Mark Nichter, who introduced it to medical anthropology with a passing reference in a book chapter in 1989. John Abraham was the first sociologist to use the term publicly in 2007 (and in teaching in the 1990s) and has subsequently published landmark publications on this theme nominated for awards. His 2010 article on ‘Pharmaceuticalization of Society’ published in Sociology was nominated by the British Sociological Association for best sociology article of the year. He is the first social scientist to develop the term into a substantive and systematic analytical framework. Most significantly, in 2010, John argued that pharmaceuticalization should be understood by reference to five main bio-sociological explanatory factors: bio-medicalism; medicalization; pharmaceutical industry promotion and marketing; consumerism; and regulatory-state ideology and policy. Since then, he has elaborated his thesis of pharmaceuticalization in his 2025 book on the subject. This theme is exemplified in the following publications:
John Abraham Pharmaceuticalization of Society, 250pp, Routledge, 2025.
John Abraham 2010 ‘Pharmaceuticalisation of society in context: theoretical, empirical and health dimensions’ Sociology: Official Journal of the British Sociological Association, 44: 603-22.
John Abraham and Julie Sheppard (1998) ‘International Comparative Analysis and Explanation in Medical Sociology: Demystifying the Halcion Anomaly’, Sociology 32: 141-62.
John Abraham (2011) ‘Evolving sociological analyses of “pharmaceuticalization”’ Sociology of Health & Illness 33: 26-28.
John Abraham and Graham Lewis (2002) ‘Citizenship, medical expertise and the capitalist regulatory state in Europe’, Sociology 36: 67-89.
Abraham, J. (2015) ‘Accuracy and progress in analytics of pharmaceuticalisation’ Social Science & Medicine, 131: 215-17.