What do you think about all these prescription drugs ads to TV? IMO all they do is make people paranoid about being sick and then tease them about medication that "only a doctor can prescribe".

I think these drug ads try to convince people they are sick. They're just as potentially hazardous as cigarette commercials. What kills me is how commercial ads warn of suicidal thoughts being a potential side effect for depression medication.

Absolutely not. They are annoying and there is no valid reason they should be broadcast on TV. If your not feeling well you go to your doctor and let him prescribe medication. The full details including side effect of what you are taking come with the medication or you can look it up online before having it filled if you want to know side effects or just ask the pharmacist or your doctor.

Chris wrote:

I think these drug ads try to convince people they are sick. They're just as potentially hazardous as cigarette commercials. What kills me is how commercial ads warn of suicidal thoughts being a potential side effect for depression medication.

In other words you gotta stay high....with a year supply of whatever....in order to not to wanna off yourself. Real encouraging.

I think it's good for people to be informed & have at least some control over their particular situation. Buuut...at the same time people are so easily influenced. I remember when I was a kid there was this mystery illness on a soap (General Hospital I think)& people were calling their doctor & hospitals convinced they had Lhasa (lassa?) Fever. It reached the point even the CDC asked the show to knock it off. lol

They go to the doctor & demand these meds & some doctors can be too willing to write the prescription. People are taking more meds than they need already.

I get a chuckle from the side effect disclaimers they have to give that are usually worse the the condition the drug is supposed to treat.

I still say it would've been better if he said 'Side effects include BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO'.


But yeah, this basically sums up the whole prescription drug ads on TV.

All their ads have done for me and my family is make us laugh at the fact people would actually ask for these drugs. They list so many awful side effects that it has turned me off of any prescriptions besides antibiotics (when absolutely necessary). I'll find other ways to manage the problems that may come up. A lot of these drugs sound far worse than street drugs. I saw one for depression and the side effect is suicide...cmon!

I have absolutely no problem with Prescription Drugs being broadcast on TV. I see all sorts of drug ads on TV and I never think to myself "Well, gee, I think I might have that illness." If a person watching television sees an ad and thinks something like that, their paranoia is the issue, not the commercial. Drugs actually can help people (they're medicine, that's what they're here for) and making people aware of their existence is something I only commend, not look down on. And if people have an issue with the side effects being worse then the illness, just don't take the medicine - it's that simple. As far as I know, nobody's cramming pills down people's throats.

I have to wonder if most doctors even bother prescribing these TV commercial medications to their patients when they ask. My brother has asthma, and when he was little my mom bought him an over the counter asthma inhaler that was advertised on TV. Later, she said that his doctor told her that it was a bunch of junk, and that that particular product shouldn't even be on the market because it's more dangerous than preventative.

I feel like the drug companies are running our healthcare system and we're definitely not better off for it. TV commercials for rx drugs are just another example of them throwing money at convincing Americans that they need to be medicated, IMO. Beyond that, they are misleading.

Did you know that the FDA just recommended (well, in 2010) that healthy people with no cholesterol problems go on statin drugs, in spite of the fact that 500 people would have to be treated with the drug in order to prevent 1 (usually survivable) heart attack? On top of that, those drugs increase the risk of type two diabetes by 9%...So how many people will get type 2 diabetes from taking a drug that has absolutely no benefit for them?

I think that drug companies do some great things, and I'm glad that they exist and cure people and all that, but their reach and control of our government is disturbing.

CatEyes10736 wrote:

I have to wonder if most doctors even bother prescribing these TV commercial medications to their patients when they ask. My brother has asthma, and when he was little my mom bought him an over the counter asthma inhaler that was advertised on TV. Later, she said that his doctor told her that it was a bunch of junk, and that that particular product shouldn't even be on the market because it's more dangerous than preventative.

Let me guess....
Primatene Mist, right? I had one of those inhalers when I was about 8....then had a BIG asthma attack that put me in the hospital and the doctors told my parents the same thing. That it was a reckless product that shouldn't be sold.

alan smithee wrote:

I get a chuckle from the side effect disclaimers they have to give that are usually worse the the condition the drug is supposed to treat.

hee hee i do the same

Shale wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:

I feel like the drug companies are running our healthcare system and we're definitely not better off for it. TV commercials for rx drugs are just another example of them throwing money at convincing Americans that they need to be medicated, IMO. Beyond that, they are misleading....

It's all about the money. And TV ads cost lots of money - which they plan to make it all back exponentially. I don't think they should be advertising the meds. That used to be what doctors were for - first diagnose your problem then give treatment options on correcting the problem.

But, doctors are fallable too. That is why antibiotics are becoming ineffective and we will start dying off from bacteria just like we did before the 19th century. And it is doctors (and our meat industry) to blame for letting some patient demand antibiotics which were not indicated in the first place, which then creates all the super bacteria that are now immune to antibiotics.

So, now doctors have to deal with patients without any medical training coming in and demanding this or that medication they saw on TV for something they diagnosed themselves. (I've done a damn good job of self-diagnosis with a Merck Manual myself, even before the Internet). But it is all about the pharmaceutical companies making money. Don't for an instant think it is for the public interest.

I agree one hundred percent. It makes me sick. (heh)

thepossiblepolice wrote:

Shale wrote:

It's all about the money. And TV ads cost lots of money - which they plan to make it all back exponentially. I don't think they should be advertising the meds. That used to be what doctors were for - first diagnose your problem then give treatment options on correcting the problem.

But, doctors are fallable too. That is why antibiotics are becoming ineffective and we will start dying off from bacteria just like we did before the 19th century. And it is doctors (and our meat industry) to blame for letting some patient demand antibiotics which were not indicated in the first place, which then creates all the super bacteria that are now immune to antibiotics.

So, now doctors have to deal with patients without any medical training coming in and demanding this or that medication they saw on TV for something they diagnosed themselves. (I've done a damn good job of self-diagnosis with a Merck Manual myself, even before the Internet). But it is all about the pharmaceutical companies making money. Don't for an instant think it is for the public interest.

I agree one hundred percent. It makes me sick. (heh)

There's a pill for that, but it can only be prescribed by your doctor, and the side effects may be headache, drowsiness, vomiting, diarrhea and increased thoughts of suicide.

Chris wrote:

I think these drug ads try to convince people they are sick. They're just as potentially hazardous as cigarette commercials. What kills me is how commercial ads warn of suicidal thoughts being a potential side effect for depression medication.

ITA with this! I've gotten to the point of almost laughing over the side effects because they often sound far worse than the actual illness they're treating. ITA about the irony of taking an anti-depressant that increases your risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts.

Chris wrote:

thepossiblepolice wrote:

I agree one hundred percent. It makes me sick. (heh)

There's a pill for that, but it can only be prescribed by your doctor, and the side effects may be headache, drowsiness, vomiting, diarrhea and increased thoughts of suicide.

lol, don't forget the risk of sudden death...I think it's an asthma drug that carries that warning.

TSJFan4Ever wrote:

Chris wrote:

I think these drug ads try to convince people they are sick. They're just as potentially hazardous as cigarette commercials. What kills me is how commercial ads warn of suicidal thoughts being a potential side effect for depression medication.

ITA with this! I've gotten to the point of almost laughing over the side effects because they often sound far worse than the actual illness they're treating. ITA about the irony of taking an anti-depressant that increases your risk of suicide and suicidal thoughts.

I actually totally understand THAT one. Depressed people lack motivation, sometimes before their depression is completely resolved, they get just enough motivation from their antidepressant to take action, that's why the risk is only in the first month or so of use.