Welcome to Buster's Blog

Irregular commentary on whatever's on my mind -- politics, sports, current events, and life in general. After twenty years of writing business and community newsletters, fifteen years of fantasy baseball newsletters, and two years of email "columns", this is, I suppose, the inevitable result: the awful conceit that someone might actually care to read what I have to say. Posts may be added often, rarely, or never again. As always, my mood and motivation are unpredictable.

Buster Gammons















Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Big Pharma TV Ads: Where Facts Go To Die


[Saw a TV ad today for some new prescription wonder-drug.  The voice-over gave the obligatory warnings.  Told me not to take this drug if I was allergic to this and that, or if I were allergic to this drug itself!  WTF?  How the hell would I know I'm allergic to it if I haven't taken it yet?  Oh, don't get me started!  Oops . . . too late.]
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Back when I was a boy, advertising prescription drugs to the public was not allowed.  It was strictly an over-the-counter world.  We heard about "iron-poor blood" (Geritol to the rescue!),  "Plop-Plop-Fizz-Fizz" (Alka Seltzer), and "Excedrin Headache #4".  The prohibition was lifted in the 1980's, thanks to Reagan and his FDA, but the ads had to include a summary of all risks and side effects.

The first Direct-To-Consumer-Pharmaceutical-Ads (DTCPA's) appeared in magazines, with the risky side effects in fine print.  But it didn't take long for the drug companies to figure out they could verbally rattle off all that shit while simultaneously showing you a shiny TV ad with the brand name and logo of their latest remedy superimposed over a field of butterflies.

With today's DTC ads on TV, it's all advertising and not a speck of education.  From the product names (take 3 or 4 vowels, a similar quantity of consonants, shake well and serve) to the images (healthy-looking young women doing yoga in the park amidst romping golden retrievers), it's a complete haze of hypochondriac come-ons designed to seduce and sell with as little clarity as possible.

Think of the sheer number and variety of DTC pharmaceutical ads you're subjected to daily on TV.  Think about the cost of such a constant advertising presence.  The profit potential in a new prescription drug is enormous.  But what the hell is this drug anyway?  Why are there so many side effects and why do they seem worse that the malady the drug claims to treat?  Could it be that the pharmaceutical industry is actively involved in "finding" new syndromes, illnesses and diseases just so they can sell us new drugs at maximum margin?

Perhaps the old "no-ads" rule was the wiser policy.  While you ponder that, watch this hilarious spoof ad:



In a more serious vein, consider that roughly a third of all FDA-approved prescription pharmaceuticals are eventually taken off the market due to harmful side effects.  It seems that for de facto long-term drug safety tests, the lab rats are us!

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30 Prescription Drug TV Ads,
which have been around for years
Actonel.
Avodart.
Boniva.
Celebrex.
Cialis.
Coreg.		Crestor.
Detrol.
Ditropan.
Enbrel.
Fosamax.
Humira.		Levitra.
Lunesta.
Nexium.
Paxil.
Plavix.
Premarin.		Prilosec.
Procrit.
Strattera.
Valtrex.
Vesicare.
Viagra.		Vioxx.
Vytorin.
Wellbutrin.
Zelnorm.
Zocor.
Zyprexa.
RED = Ads which have been removed due to SERIOUS SIDE EFFECTS, and/or FDA action.

The preceding list is taken from "Vaughn's Summaries", by Vaughn Aubuchon.  Mr. Aubuchon is a Silicon Valley tech engineer and a total stranger, but he's done some good research and writing in this area.  Click the link to check out more:
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