Pharmaceutical Companies Shouldn't Be Allowed to Advertise Prescription Drugs on TV
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HERE'S WHAT I THINK
Pharmaceutical Companies Shouldn't Be Allowed to Advertise Prescription Drugs on TV
Pharmaceutical companies are using advertising not only to find patients who may actually need their drugs but to create new patients who don't need anybody's drugs. Every minor ache or pain that anyone feels is now targeted as an illness that needs to be treated with a pill. This is simply ridiculous!
Pills are not the answer to every health concern and, in many cases, the cure is actually worse than the original problem. The drug companies make it look like their medications are the perfect answer to your problem. They gloss over the side effects and often don't tell the whole story.In many cases, the studies are flawed or have not been conducted long enough to be assured of safe results. Remember Vioxx?!
They also use scare tactics to coerce people into getting vaccinations. The majority of these new vaccinations have not been tested long term and may not actually protect you from the conditions they claim to prevent.
We as healthcare consumers are smart enough to do our own research and ask the questions we need answered before sticking that pill in our mouth or having that needle stuck in our arm. I'm not buying what they're selling because of some provocative sales pitch on a TV commercial!
Links That Prove My Point
- Drug Injury Watch
- Prescription Drug Side Effects News and Information
- TV Prescription Drug Ads
- A list of prescription drugs heavily advertised on television, which have unacceptable side effects.
- Most TV Prescription Drug Ads Minimize Risk Information, Study Finds
- Prescription drug ads on television first hit the airwaves just over a decade ago, but a new study finds that most of them still do not present a fair balance of information, especially when it comes to the risk of side effects.
Prescription Drug Side Effect Horror Stories
...and these are just some of the ones I know of personally!!
A middle-aged man was taking multiple medications recommended by his physician. He was developing severe memory and cognition problems to the point they suspected something like Alzheimers. His wife, while doing her own research on the Internet, found out that some of the drugs he was taking should not be given together. Once the medications were changed, the symptoms gradually diminished. Why didn't the doctor know this?
Several babies were given multiple vaccinations which, according to their doctors, were safe. These innocent children later developed autism or other related behavior conditions as a result of reactions to these vaccines.
A young woman took prophylactic antibiotics to help with an acne problem for many years. Now her teeth are discolored and she has problems related to candida.
In these cases and many others I have heard of, the cure was not better than the condition. What's scary is that the doctors weren't even aware of possible complications or else chose not to make them known. Do you honestly think these people would have chosen to use these prescriptions drugs or vaccines if they had been fully aware of the possible complications?
YOUR TURN!
Fetching blurbs now... please stand bybongoo says:
a bigmac commercial is followed by a prescription drug commercial followed by another pdc then an eatout commercial. Just as effective as the "joe camel" ad..There exists an epidemic of prescription drug use/abuse in many affluent countries and the advertising firms, who excel at what they do, facilitate the epidemic, as do some of the pols., who are representing the large pharmaceuitical companies and the drs. who take the "perks" from these companies, etc.etc. Turn off the spigot where the spigot is. Damm the torpedoes, full speed ahead. What is the difference between Propoganda and Pharmaceuitical commercials commercials,,,not much. Many of their clinical studies turn out to be false and actually cause the opposite effect than that which the "drug" was approved for... how could a media commercial representing that particular product have any basis in reality and/or be considered "safe and effective"? The system is so broken, so very broken that the behavior of the pharms could even be considered a violation of the "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, from, what was that document...The system is so very broken it is heart wrenching to know this.
Posted January 08, 2011
Scott Q says:
I have PTSD from IRAQ. I tried to get Certex to help me quit and quick from what the commercial says. Howeven when I talk to my doctor that i wanted he, he desided no to sent it to me as he said he would. When I called my Doc to find out why, he told me the side effects, Suicdal thoughts, agree issues, and nightmares. If your not getting what I mean, I HAVE PTSD, all the issues, the side effects, I already have, i was just thankful my doctor caught it before it was sent to me.
Posted April 23, 2010
IdeaCenter says:
You bring up some interesting points, Gary, and I suspect you're right. It's really a sad state of affairs.
Posted October 11, 2009
Gary Brownfield says:
I'm 59, and for years there were no drug company ads save for otc varieties. When did it become necessary to push drugs on us? My opinion is that the money could be payback to the media for helping the drug companies get their candidates in office. It's estimated the companies are spending more on ads than research.
Posted October 11, 2009
Tom Lamb (DrugInjuryWatch.com) says:
By its nature, drug advertising is not educational and therefore not in the best interest of patients. The patient's doctor is best-situated to select the right drug. Patients who have watched TV ads tend to just interfere in the prescribing process.
Posted October 01, 2008
by IdeaCenter
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