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Ask your doctor if prescription drug advertising is right for you
Hacky comic premise or threat to public health? It can be both….
In 1997, a change in policy by the Food and Drug Administration opened the floodgates for widespread advertising of prescription drugs on TV. Prior to that, there was a weird interim period in which several prescription drugs, like Claritin, advertised their names without actually saying what ailments they were intended to treat.
One of the current rules for prescription drug advertising requires the ads to mention possible side effects. In most cases, the most serious side effects are rare, but the list of them can often sound quite intimidating, even bizarre, and it’s a clichè to make fun of them — sure, the drug will cure your headaches, but your left leg will fall off!
One of the caveats that always bothers me is, “Do not take ExtoProne if you are allergic to ExtoProne.” Presumably, the ads are aimed at people who’ve never used the drug in the past. How are they supposed to know whether they’re allergic to it? And if they are allergic to it, it’s highly unlikely that they’d be back for a second helping, and even less likely that their doctor would prescribe one.
Also, it’s sort of creepy how many different drugs, for different ailments, mention…
