Discussion»Questions»Health and Wellness» New Zeland is the only other country that allows pharmaceutical advertising.. Should drug makers pick their patients??
Those drug ads never have induced me to want to try any of them. After they go through the list of side effects at the end of the commercial which often include death I'm positive I never want to take them.
I'm not sure it makes much difference. The scripts that many doctors write depend more on the kickbacks they get from big pharma than they do on the best med for the patient, which often might be no drug at all!
Personally, if I must take a medication, I prefer one that's been around long enough to see the long term effects. There are more class action lawsuit advertisements than there are pharmaceutical ads!
You're absolutely right. I've worked in the medical profession and the doctors and their staff are courted by these drug companies, fancy dinners, all expense paid cruises it's truly disgusting. They know which doctors prescribe their drugs over their competitors and some doctors have even been pressured by the hospitals to prescribe certain drugs to in hospital patients, that has to be one huge kickback.
For prescription drugs the doctor still makes the final decision so public advertising may be specious. OTCs are a market commodity so of course they need to advertise.
Convincing people that they need and should be asking their doctor for medicines they never heard of for conditions they know next to noting about. I'd love to see a minarchist state but if we are going to have a big brother it should focus on regulating chit like that instead of people's habits.
The people who need it will get it from their doctor. They don't need commercials. It's just to sell it to people who don't need it.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 18, 2017 9:04 AM MDT
Many don't when it comes to things like sleep aids and SSRI's.
We send people to jail for selling substances people want. We call them "drug pushers" when all they do is sell what people ask them for. Then we have Big Pharma doing the real "drug pushing" creating invasive commercials that are designed to convince people they NEED their new chemical. That's so fricked up.
I have benefited from SSRIs at the recommendation of my GP. Your comparison of qualified MDs to unqualified street drug dealers is fatuous. If you have such strong reservations about "Big Pharm" then please do not avail your self of its many benefits.
Not saying SSRI's are good or bad and that people don't benefit from them. Yet no one benfits from commercials make very general "symptoms" that are designed to convince people they should ask if they need a drug. Symptoms have an equally profound placebo effect as the drugs do.
Big Pharma is and there commercials are the biggest drug pushers out there. Their advertisements are definitive drug pushing and much more aggressive than any street dealer.
If one really has a medical problem or mental health problem. Then when they tell their docs the symptoms they will get the medicine they need and require. Having ads that tell you to ask and try Zoloft or Lunesta aren't required or beneficial to anyone but the profiteers. To think some wonder why the USA is the most medicated and over prescribed nation on Earth.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at March 18, 2017 10:25 AM MDT
This may be a bit off topic, but there are a growing number of mental health professionals and advocates who believe that prescribing psychotropic meds should be left to specialists. There's much data that shows that more primary care providers are prescribing these meds than are psychiatrists, and they don't have the proper training or experience to be doing this. Qualified practitioners understand that in nearly every instance of an anxiety or mood disorder, a pharmaceutical solution is at best a half-measure.
I know many general practitioners will tell a patient to see a specialist first. Then prescribe the refills with some regular check-ins to the specialist.
It seems wrong to me that so many GPs, who wouldn't dare trying to treat something like cancer themselves, have absolutely no problem "playing" psychiatrist. Just this week, someone I know saw her GP for trouble sleeping and was prescribed a very powerful anti-psychotic (she has zero history of mental health issues, btw) TO HELP HER SLEEP! WTF?? Talk about off-label prescribing! She'd probably be less harmed if he'd told her to have a glass or two of wine... and certainly better off if she'd have half of a "special" brownie an hour before bed. But no...that's a dangerous drug! SMFH! (sorry...rant over)
This brings up another issue, whistle6. It isn't such an easy for doctors to say "no", for several reasons. 1) Doctors are logically concerned about keeping their patients satisfied. In most areas, there is no shortage of practitioners to choose from. 2) Medical schools are massively funded by pharmaceutical companies. 3) Healthy people don't visit the doctor as often as unhealthy people. While I'm not implying that doctors want to keep people sick (that would be terrible and slanderous), medicine is big business.
Two excellent examples, Glis! I mean, how are doctors (and pharmaceutical companies) expected to stay in business if they tell people to take up yoga and spend an hour each week outdoors?
Overprescribing antibiotics has caused a major health crisis. And I know that some/many doctors still prescribe them for viral infections "to prevent a secondary bacterial infection" just to appease ignorant patients who want and expect a prescription. It's outrageous.
People are demanding and will just go to the doc who will get them what they want. That's part of the problem too.
I know people who complain the doctor was being an a-hole because they wouldn't give an antibiotic for there clear fluid runny nose under the impression the doctor " Wouldn't do anything for me".
SavvyAnsley 