Televised drug ads have become more than simple advertisements for medicinal products – they’ve become alarmingly misleading.
This would be an important subject under any point of view, but I can tell you the quantity and quality of ads for medicines on American TV is especially shocking to a foreigner.
Most of them portray a nice atmosphere, depicting a family environment or happy moments of life (if you take that drug, of course). Either that or they suggest how cool you can be if you take Zyrtec, for example, like the cute girl who can finally breathe freely (because of Zyrtec, not because she’s a human being).
Then, in a frighteningly quick, nonchalant manner, a list of side effects including the risk of death, or in some cases suicidal thoughts sounds through the last seconds of the ad. This only adds to the bizarre feeling that the commercial is not selling a common product, like a sneaker or a cell phone, even if it seemed like it in most of the commercial.
Not by chance, these commercials are running more frequently during prime time. Drug companies know what they’re doing.
According to the Pharma Marketing Network Forums, data compiled by the Nielsen Company (consumer research and measure and information) shows that last year drugs ads in printed media increased by 11 percent, to a cost of $162.6 million, and radio ads jumped by 112 percent, to a cost of $46.3 million. The pharmaceutical giants also jumped heavily on digital marketing &- Internet ads have doubled over the last five years, hitting $117.4 million, up 31 percent from last year alone. In addition to these spikes in spending, $7.6 million was also spent on outdoor ads.
Of course, we’re talking about big-name brands like Pfizer (manufacturer of Viagra and famous cholesterol control drug Lipitor) and AstraZeneca. A bigger chunk of their marketing budget is spent on ads for drugs that treat chronic conditions.
It’s no secret these giant industries are well known for lobbying in Washington &- in 2001 they settled a charge engaged in the 1990s to protect their profits against rising generics sales &- and triggering a new era of consumer advocates.
A Consumer Reports National Research Center poll conducted in May also shows patients are concerned about how drug companies are influencing doctors – and they should be.
More than 75 percent of 1,651 doctors accepted drug samples, according to a survey published in April 2007 by the New England Journal of Medicine, and 83 percent took free lunches from drug makers. Nearly 30 percent of physicians were paid by industry firms for consulting, speaking, serving on an advisory board or enrolling patients in clinical trials.
Reports from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America say that direct-to-consumer advertising enhances doctor-patient relationships.
Yeah, right.
Watch some of the commercials on YouTube and see if you feel more enlightened about what your doctor has to tell you.
I think watching these commercials presents candid proof of how stupid drug makers want to believe we are. Medicines are not like other goods in modern life and should not be sold as if they were. You need medicine because you are sick, and medicines should be used as treatment and not crutches, even if you are diagnosed with a chronic condition.
There’s definitely something rotten in the kingdom of marketing and the promotion of drugs. Moreso, there’s something profoundly sick in our society, besides the poor condition of public (or private, if you please) health issues.
When diseases become reasons for designed publicity and consumption desires, it’s time to ask once and again: Where is humanity going? Not to the drugstore, I hope.