The Mad, Mad world of Pharmaceuticals

This has been bugging me for way too long...had to say something. Just take a look at the way pharmaceuticals, specifically commercials, have changed albeit evolved in just the last 10 years. In a short time of casual television viewing, one can see oodles of ads for just about any drug to remedy what ails you.

Everything from high blood pressure, bi-polar disorder, restless legs syndrome, high cholesterol, diabetes, blood clots, arthritis, erectile dysfunction, migraines...just to name a few. Whatever you got, we got a pill for you! And if you don't have it, perhaps you should double check with your doctor to make sure you don't need the latest and the greatest. Now don't get me wrong, I truly believe that there are so many wonderful medications that have been developed in the last century that have extended lives and truly enhanced "quality of life" for many people.  What I'm talking about here is the absolute craziness of not only the volume of advertising for pharmaceuticals but the content of what they are saying.

Sides effects

 Listen carefully to the side effects for some of these drugs...Yikes!
Sometimes the cure seems fraught with more danger than the ailment.  In the field of prescription drug advertising, I understand that they by law pharmaceutical companies have to state any side effect, however remote, found in clinical trials. The Prescription Drug Marketing Act of 1987, was passed to help regulate the marketing of prescription drugs and assure that the general public was able to be made aware of the pros and cons or their drug choices.  Of course this is all well and good: we want to be informed consumers but what I am pointing out is that the presentations of the drugs sometimes come across in a ridiculous light.  Here's a good example: a medication marketed for migraine headaches responsibly lists several side effects including occasional nausea, constipation and the last side effect was....you guessed it: headaches. Why on earth would I take a medication to relieve a Migraine headache with a possible side effect of a another headache?! Really??

Take 2 and call me in the morning...if you wake up.

Some of the side effects are even more severe...several different medications on the market today quietly list "death" as a side effect. Well, if it happened in the clinical trial then it must be brought forward. Goodness, I would be more than a bit hesitant to take a pill if I thought that it might be my last, ever.  Yet, coming to the defense of the pharmaceutical advertisers, if a death occurred in the clinical trials, it may very well have occurred from the underlying cause of the disease itself and not precipitated by the medication.  Again, they are required to report it anyway.  However, it just does not bode very well to be discussing how wonderful a medication is if it includes horrific side effects. There are so many issues that can be delved into with the Pharmaceutical industry, and I do not deny all the wonderful medications that have made for healthier living, but I just wish the commercials made more sense.  I don't have a solution to make the presentation of the drugs more palatable....just felt the need to bring up the point & provide laughter through the pain.  As the saying goes: "Laughter is the Best Medicine."  Stay Healthy and Happy!