Ads Convince Consumers To Ask Their Doctor For Specific Drugs

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Americans are being bombarded with an endless barrage of direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads, designed to convince consumers to ask their doctor for a specific prescription drug.  Such ads are only legal in the U.S. and New Zealand. DTC drug ads undermine the real knowledge that doctors should have when, in consultation with the patient, a treatment plan is established.  

In 1981, Merck published the first DTC print ad.  In 1983, the first television prescription drug ad came out for prescription strength ibuprofen. The pharmaceutical industry then steadily pushed to deregulate DTC ad, and in 1997 the FDA loosened advertising rules, leading to an enormous increase in DTC ad spending.

According to AlterNet:

“Scheming pharma execs and ad agency hacks are not above inventing an illness to sell a new drug. A couple of years ago, Eli Lilly discovered a ‘new’ female condition, Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), to promote Sarafem, a form of Prozac ... This new condition was a surprise to the American Psychiatric Association, which did not recognized PMDD as a disorder ... Science had become witchcraft -- and with a hefty profit.”

 Sources:

  AlterNet March 12, 2011

via Dr. Mercola