Lately it seems that I cannot watch television without seeing an ad for a prescription medication. Some of these commercials are absolutely hilarious, like that one with the happy people running through a field because they took an allergy pill.
Many of these ads do not even specify what the medication is used for, leaving the viewer puzzled as to what its purpose is. My favorite part of these commercials is invariably the fast-talking voice-over-man quickly listing the unpleasant side effects of the medication at the end so viewers cannot really hear or process them.
A typical person watching television might see ads for Meridia to cure weight problems, Serafem to control an extreme form of PMS called Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Zyban to help quit smoking and Zocor for high cholesterol. Just about everyone has something he or she would like to change about himself or herself. Who wouldn’t jump at the chance for this kind of quick and easy self-improvement?
Drug companies have been successfully marketing drugs directly to the consumer, based on the principle that the average American is constantly on the quest for self-improvement through consumerism. These companies are out primarily to make money, not to help people. The more people identify with the actors “cured” in the commercials, the more likely they will be to buy the drug. It doesn’t matter to the company whether or not the consumer actually needs the drug. Buying junk we don’t need is the basis of capitalism.
The big medication ad of last year was for Paxil, which is best known as the drug to help people overcome their social anxiety. There are many people who need this drug for their anxiety problems. These commercials feature people once too anxiety stricken to leave the house, enjoying themselves socially. The prevalence of such ads may leave the average shy TV watcher wondering whether or not he should go on Paxil to become a more social person.
While this drug might cause a user without social anxiety disorder to become more at ease in social situations, the side effects of the medication would deter an informed consumer from using it unless absolutely necessary. Some of these unpleasantries include agitation, fast or irregular heartbeat, muscle pain or weakness, skin rash and in extreme cases, talking, feeling and acting with excitement and activity one cannot control. Why would the company ever want to leave that part out of the commercial?
Birth control has recently become a very popular medication to market to TV audiences. Commercials for Orthotricyclin tout its ability to clear up acne as part of its appeal. It’s not just for contraception anymore! Never mind the risks of blood clots and stroke or the danger of getting breast cancer later in life — it will clear up acne! Now, if you are a pubescent oily mess, you too can look like the beautiful clear skinned model in the commercial if you take The Pill.
A new form of birth control is being heavily advertised as a pill-free alternative to The Pill — for the more forgetful contraception user. Those damn pills are so pesky — why not get the Depo Provera shot full of hormones four times a year so the user will not have to remember what day of the week it is?
Unfortunately, some side effects of this use-every-three-months alternative are unpredictable bleeding, depression, weight gain and bloating. Now that’s what I call sexy! Depo Provera can’t be reversed once it’s injected, so women who experience these symptoms must wait three months for relief. Yet the ad makes the injection seem pleasant, easy and more convenient than the pill even though it still carries the same health risks as The Pill. Misleading, no?
Another misleading move by some drug companies has been the marketing of over-the-counter pain relievers that target migraine pain. Revolutionary new Advil Migraine and Excedrin Migraine are here to finally stop the suffering that regular Advil or Excedrin couldn’t handle.
Wait a minute, upon closer inspection it becomes obvious that these drugs are exactly the same as their non-migraine counterparts but have been approved by the FDA to treat migraine pain. So now they include special directions for people suffering from migraines as to how to take the pills.
These special directions also warn not to keep using the product and to see a doctor if the over-the-counter drug doesn’t stop the pain. Duh! That’s what the poor bastard in pain should’ve done in the first place instead of taking the same old drug that never worked before! Nevertheless, the ads for these pills show happy people listening to music, not lying in dark rooms crying, all because of this “new” miracle pain reliever.
Almost every drug carries with it negative side effects that the consumer might not necessarily know about. Read the fine print, do research about medications and stay informed. When you hand over those dollars for drugs, keep in mind the money is often more important than the healing.
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