Prescription Drug Ads
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Last updated on: 3/22/2011 1:13:51 PM PST

Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?

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PRO (yes) Comments (6)

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  • -2 0 -2 Debugmast3r Feb. 27, 2012
    "well yes and no I would say.. Not everyone deserves something that useful it could be chaotic. Although a few rare ads should be there to avoid illegal drug abuse like prescripted AMP instead of snorting dirty Cocaine which only brings loss, right ?"
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  • -2 +6 -8 John Apr. 27, 2011
    "I do favor the advertisement of both the availability and possible side-effects of prescription drugs. The information in these commercials at the very least give the concerned consumer a place to start intelligent discussions with their doctor, and the side-effects, while alarming in some cases, are a necessary part of adequate consumer decision-making."
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    • 0 0 0 Paula Aug. 10, 2011
      "Ever notice how fast they tell you the side effects, and if you can hear them, which most elderly people probably cannot, you wouldn't take the stuff in the first place. This is costing the people money that could better be used to reduce the price of the prescription drugs. You should not have to choose between food and drugs."
  • -3 0 -3 lena Sep. 11, 2012
    "if you have stocks in the drug companys you my be able to live off your dividens. For some without insurance that self medicate this is there only way o treat them selve. and have to pay high doctors fees."
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  • -3 +5 -8 Mary H. Moore Apr. 29, 2011
    "Yes, I think they should. Sometimes doctors prescribe medicines but do not read all of the information about side effects that patients should be aware of. Patients should be active in reading all they can about their own medicines, because they could be really hurting themselves and not know it, neither does the doctor (because nobody has read everything there is in all the information that comes with a packaged medicine).

    For example, my doctor had me on medication that enhanced my appetite, yet I was also put on a strict diet. She shared with me that she did not know that and just did not have time to read everything. When we realized by my reading the whole thing, that several medications were making me hungry or impeding my weight loss program, my doctor understood why I didn't necessarily lose weight like she initially thought I would. I believe that is why they don't have such a strict stance about my weight loss/gain anymore, although it is very high on my list, so of course I don't mean that we are careless about it."
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    • +2 +2 0 patsy handy May. 2, 2011
      "Yes in today's time, Drs' have patients in rapidly, don't have the time to read all of the side effects. But now when the pharmacy fills a script, they put that info in the bag. It behooves the patient to read all the info. that came with the medication."
    • 0 0 0 D Jun. 16, 2012
      "With all due respect. I can not follow the rapidly spoken "may cause etc, etc, etc side effects" statements in drug ads.
      The medium we are using now provides the information we need.

      Not ads simply trying to SELL us DRUGS."
  • -3 +5 -8 jeffrey Hill Apr. 29, 2011
    "Yes it will educate theaudience and notifies our doctor if we have permission to tkae a certain drup. I have gout and I was on alurpurinol and once they advertised uloric for people with gout I called my doctor right away to see if I can switch and felt beter ever since."
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    • 0 0 0 Lea Jan. 13, 2012
      "Same thing happened to my uncle, though it was a different condition and different drug. Now his newer drug is one of the ones that are in class action suits for undisclosed side effects - cancer to be specific."
  • -8 +3 -11 Jeff Kozloff Apr. 27, 2011
    "Discussions of DTC advertising occur infrequently during physician-patient office conversations (only 3% of the time). However, when discussed, DTC plays an important and often positive role by helping physicians describe and gain patient buy-in to treatments that the physician him/herself has determined to be appropriate."
    Write a Reply Replies (1)
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    • 0 0 0 d Jun. 16, 2012
      "Very true.

      Drug company pressures Dr to prescribe drugs with ads.

      People see drug ads. Talk to Dr. buy drugs.

      That's the problem. Drugs taken just because they are most profitable.... the one & only reason the Drs are pressured & the reason they are on Ads... $$$$$.

      So you are very correct Big Pharma is smart their system works."

CON (no) Comments (51)


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  • +14 +22 -8 Jeff Apr. 27, 2011
    "The television commercials that advertise antidepressant medications directly to the public are doing a major public disservice. The widespread and exponentially growing occurrence of depression in our society is a natural response to the alienation that a fast paced modern technological lifestyle is engendering.

    Imperial wars, global warming, social violence, pollution, and the economic rat race are just a few of the depressing things we all deal with day to day. But the drug companies would have us believe that these things are not what are depressing us. They would have us believe it is our own minds that are faulty. Just pop a pill and it will all go away. You will become a happy well adjusted citizen once again. It is a lie... their mind control drugs will not make you happy."
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  • +11 +14 -3 tom Sep. 4, 2011
    "Does your index finger twitch uncontrollably? You may have TFS - Twitching Finger Syndrome. If you suspect having TFS ask your doctor about Digitwiddle. If when taking Digitwiddle you have heart palpitations, shortness of breath, thoughts of suicide, develop an aversion to humans in general, or die, what the hell, we don't really care. But tell you doctor (BPP - Big Pharma puppet) anyway so he can prescribe several other things that will keep you sick indefinately and fuel our multi-trillion dollar cult."
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    • 0 0 0 shirley Just Feb. 8, 2013
      "We as a nation do suffer from hypochondria"
  • +6 +7 -1 Ann Jan. 13, 2012
    "If the advertisements were meant as a public service they wouldn't pay to have them on TV, there would be a web site dedicated to the dispersal of medication information, especially information on new and minimally tested medications. All the ads could run with links that went directly to the companies so patients could ask questions. Only people who wanted to see them would. But it's not meant as a public service, they are meant to increase revenue."
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    • 0 0 0 Shirley Just Feb. 8, 2013
      "Well, we are living in the Green generation and it has nothing to do we saving the planet, money is the driver of this generation"
  • +4 +7 -3 Paula Aug. 10, 2011
    "The money they spend on these non-stop commercials, could be used instead for research and development. Many older seniors, on Medicare part D, will take anything if they see it advertised. Prescription meds should only be recommended by the Doctor and not the pharm companies."
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    • 0 0 0 Shirley Just Feb. 8, 2013
      "I live in a retirement community and I see how many companys come here to inform the residents on just how many doctors medicare will pay for, the average is 8, and each doctor writes prescriptions and they end up takeing 5 to 15 different drugs"
  • +3 +5 -2 Lea Neeson Jan. 12, 2012
    "1. The purpose of advertisement of products is to sell them. Medications shouldn't be in that class. Doctors should be educated directly by the drug companies and then they should make decisions as to which drugs they trust and wish to prescribe.
    2. The reason companies of any type pay for advertisements is that they do increase sales by persuasive suggestion to public. Viewers are programmed to want, like, be attracted, desire, or "need" items. This is a multimillion dollar industry (both are actually.) Neither drug companies nor advertising companies waste the money on useless advertisements that don't work and don't attract customers (either patients or drug companies needing advertisements.) Being bombarded with these advertisements is dangerous. It's one thing to be enticed to eat twinkies and another to be enticed to these drugs.
    3. When I watch TV I do so to have fun, not be depressed and reminded to be sick in every imaginable way.
    4. I suppose that the drug companies have a right to advertise their wares, but treat it like cigarette ads - only print ads. Ads I had to buy to see. Ads in publications targeted at certain groups - not a drag net including all viewers in all age groups."
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  • +3 +8 -5 ken walker Apr. 29, 2011
    "most doctors receive samples of medications. if there is a need for these medications, doctors should provide the prescriptions for the meds. they should be tailored for the patients. Patients should not recommend to doctors the need for medication."
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    • 0 0 0 shirley just Feb. 8, 2013
      "Because I have a car, I use it to take my neighbors to there doctors, I find doctors no longer give out samples of medication, they are forced in to paying for atleast 30 pills. If they have a reaction to it, they need to spend money for something else"
  • +2 +3 -1 Thomas Pisarchick Oct. 25, 2011
    "Here is a petition on the White House's website to ban these advertisements. The petition only needs 25,000 signature in a month to be reviewed by the administration.

    https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/ban-prescription-drug-advertisements/wZzLbg2R"
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    • 0 0 0 shirley just Feb. 8, 2013
      "I am going to sign that petition. Thanks for the info"
  • +2 +8 -6 Loni Apr. 27, 2011
    "You have an informed presentation of both sides, more professional than others I've read. I'm biased on the con side, but I recognize that comes from personal experience with several people in my family/friends circle who have 'rubber stamp' doctors and a medicine cabinet full of the prescriptions that were marketed DTC. Like Pavlov's Dog, if they get the message enough times they come to believe it, and go running to the doctor with the symptoms they've been 'educated' to have."
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  • +1 +1 0 Lexi Sep. 25, 2012
    "Of course no!"
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  • +1 +1 0 L Sep. 10, 2012
    "I believe that while the consumer is allegedly responsible for their own decisions that the advertisement of prescription drugs should not be advertised directly to consumers. The ads are intended to increase revenue; they are not for our better health. They provide limited education about the product. If you want to be educated about a new drug, ask your doctor, research it yourself, or ask the company that manufactures it. What would help is if ”the existing rules governing drug ads were properly enforced, then patients could become better informed (Julie M. Donohue – assistant professor in the Graduate School of Public Health).” The decision to allow these drugs to be prescribed should reside in the doctor. Most people are more inclined to believe their doctors though so it’s better to go with that. Hopefully you have a knowledgeable doctor that you can trust to inform you of the risks and benefits of "new and older generic-unadvertised medications (Jerry Avorn - internist and professor of medicine at Harvard).""
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  • +1 +1 0 Marcia Aug. 11, 2012
    "This country has become completely oblivious to the requirements of nutrition, exercise, adequate sleep, sunshine and fresh air and water, as the basic requirements of a healthy mind and body.
    After years of nutritional deficiency and the resulting chronic disease results, we go running for a quick fix via drugs and there is no such thing.
    The Pharmaceutical Industry owns the FDA, DEA, CDC and most other health related acronyms.
    The public is comatose to the reality of this massive brainwashing and the constant bombardment of influence through the media, with these commercials is anything but educational. It only exasperates the already huge problems of addiction, chronic disease, disability and mental illness, much of it actually created from neurotransmitter depletion, by the drugs themselves."
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  • +1 +1 0 William Quinlvan Mar. 9, 2012
    "I have started a petition on change.org that is directed to the FDA and Congress proposing that D-T-C pharma advertising once again become illegal in order to eliminate the negative effects these ads have on our health care costs and on the "take a pill for everything" disease centered mindset that drives our system as opposed to a health driven preventative approach."
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  • +1 +2 -1 Julie Courtney Jan. 1, 2012
    "I just despise seeing the mess on television. I don't see why they should allow cialis and viagra ads where kids can see it all the time. It makes me so mad."
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  • +1 +2 -1 Christine Nov. 30, 2011
    "I think that most consumers trust what is said in advertising without realizing how misleading the language can be. When it comes to prescription drugs, this could be a matter of life and death. Physicians and biomedical scientists study for many years to have the knowledge necessary to make a judgement about which medications are safe. They are not God, but they do have the benefit of extensive study behind their decisions. Consumers don't have the education to make wise decisions, and yet can go online or to other countries and buy drugs that have been advertised in the USA--believing that what is presented in the advertisement is enough information to go on. DTCA in the USA does not only effect US citizens--it spreads information beyond borders where drugs are not as regulated. I wonder if any research has been done on drugs chosen because of ads in the USA, but obtained without a doctor's advice in another country--and how many deaths or injuries have occurred. Of course it would be difficult to get any accurate data because the victims probably can't speak for themselves anymore."
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  • +1 +4 -3 Kay Vawter Oct. 7, 2011
    "Prescription Drug advertisements are turning our population into drug users at a tremendous cost to the health care system. Only health care providers should decided the proper and correct drug therapy if called for. Too many people see these ads and ask to be put on them. This is harmful to both people and raising health care costs enormously . It should be banned."
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  • +1 +3 -2 S. Richardson Jun. 23, 2011
    "I believe health care needs to be less corporate and pharmaceutical companies are too powerful, wealthy, and allowed to do unethical things in developing countries. Health care should not be 'for profit'."
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  • +1 +6 -5 Jody Mahoney Apr. 30, 2011
    "No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The cost of advertising is making the cost of presriptions go sky high........."
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    • +2 +2 0 KM May. 17, 2011
      "I don't think the cost of advertising is what is driving up the costs I think it's the fact that lots of these drugs take years and hundreds of millions of dollars to produce. On top of that, manufacturers only have a 20 year patent to recoup their $. When you factor in how long it takes for a drug to go to market it could be far less than 20 years."
  • +1 +6 -5 Sonia Apr. 30, 2011
    "I agree with Dale. The advertrisements are very expensive and continually blasted on every network. The cost therein is passed onto the consumer and the insurance cartel. The pumped up sales revenue goes to top execs and shareholders. There is nothing about this advertising that has anything to do with the well-being of the public."
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  • +1 +5 -4 eda Apr. 30, 2011
    "of course no."
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  • +1 +6 -5 Pharma kills Apr. 30, 2011
    "From my experience doctors are very good at prescribing useless to harmful drugs in favor of big pharma. They don't need further assistance by bombarding our airwaves with wishful thinking for desperate people."
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  • +1 +5 -4 Randy Pearson Apr. 30, 2011
    "I thank that they should not be able to advertise directly to consumers. A lot of people thank they will have the disease that the prescription is for. That takes up a lot of time the doctors do not have to spare."
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  • +1 +6 -5 Ray Apr. 29, 2011
    "As a consumer I like to be informed of whatever products I may be purchasing. However, I believe prescription medicinesshould only be advertised to physicians, pharmacists and other certain healthcare professions. I say leave it up to the professional. If I need to know about the medication further I can look it up."
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  • +1 +5 -4 Sandy Apr. 27, 2011
    "Advertisement of prescription drugs to the general public is like putting candy and snacks at eye level of the kids 'while waiting' so they will more then just encourage their parents to buy. Information regarding prescription drugs should not be coming from the patient but the doctor dispensing them. Truly, some doctors may prescribe these medications simply because of a whiny patient that thinks they need it!"
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  • 0 0 0 JLH Mar. 28, 2013
    "Direct advertising of prescription medications is at best a waste of money and at worst dangerous/irresponsible. Funds used for advertising could be channeled into making drugs more affordable. And we're in the information age--if people want to find information on potential treatments for their ailments, it's easy enough to do without relying on ads. Far too many people are swayed to make poor decisions, demand meds they don't need, or worse by the omnipresence of drug ads. I believe the pharmaceutical industry should be held accountable for the ratio of direct ad costs versus patient assistance and education. I'm one of countless people who cannot afford a medication I need (Humira) and I believe strongly that bloated ad costs are part of why it's beyond my means. Had I been able to afford it ten years ago, it may have prevented my disability, and now it could be the only chance I have to prevent permanent loss of function. I hate to think that advertising can be even a small factor in whether or not I can walk... not that I like the idea of taking Humira, but it's my only shot at this point. Meanwhile, people with far less need who can afford the drug demand it when less costly measures could be equally or more beneficial."
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  • 0 0 0 David Gelperin Mar. 22, 2013
    ""In the US, these ads are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that they are not false or misleading."

    This statement is false and misleading. The FDA regulation process is grossly inadequate. Non-statistical research suggests that about 50% of prescription drug ads are violative. The FDA only detects a tiny percentage of these violations.

    It should be clearly understood that ad content is basically "unregulated" in practice."
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  • 0 0 0 Shirley Just Feb. 8, 2013
    "The mind is the most powerful tool we have, indoctrinate it long enough with the message we will need drug to live and it will produce the symptoms required to use drug. I had to learn to use the mute botton on my TV to tune it out, At age 70 I find no reason to use prescription drug, nor do I need over the counter drug"
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  • 0 0 0 julia Sep. 12, 2012
    "I believe that prescription drugs advertised directly to consumers is a con because it normalizes taking drugs. I also think that the consumer lives under the "false pretense" that they know about the drugs advertised. Even with a disclaimer from the doctor on the advertisement, I still think that consumers think that they are informed and knowledgeable due to the advertisement."
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  • 0 0 0 Clint Sep. 12, 2012
    "My opinion on this is No. One of the simplest reasons is that the idea of prescription drugs is that it must be determined by a professional medical practitioner to guarantee quality of treatment. If it was believed by the medical community that such drugs weren't of concern where the average person could make good judgment for purchase and use then they would be over the counter (O.T.C.) instead; however, this isn't the case.

    By advertising directly to the consumer produces an angle where the consumer starts "playing doctor," which is more than being an advocate for their person health. The advertisement sells them a story instead of providing research on its use, benefits, side effects, etc. that always encourages the consumer to tell their doctor essentially to ask to be prescribed it. Even though the doctor is the one who has the ultimate decision and responsibility we've seen that in every other profession that pressure by the consumer causes many to give in because they want to provide good "customer service" and meet what the person wants in order to maintain a strong public reputation. Some say their clients are so adamant that "no" isn't an answer that will be accepted. The influence by ads creates bad practice."
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  • 0 0 0 Anthony Sep. 11, 2012
    "Because of the stance that the media has become over the years, with the "In Your Face" advertisements regarding quick fixes. Statements such as "Tired? Dishes piling up? Try this..." have become the norm. I believe you should have to research for medical aid. Not automatically take a pill and be 250% better. Medical aid could include physical therapy, exercise, nutrition, homeopathic aid, etc. The public needs to be educated before they become dependent on certain pill regimens."
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  • 0 0 0 Megan Sep. 11, 2012
    "I believe that prescription drug commercials are helping to promote more and more people to search for something that is wrong with them which feeds into the definition of health being the absence of disease. People are becoming obsessed with the idea that to be healthy they must be completely free of disease, so they spend time and money going to numerous doctors visits to make sure they don’t have these diseases they've been seeing on advertisements for drugs that can fix them. People interpret common side effects they read or hear about as something wrong with themselves and go to the doctor looking for something to be wrong even if they are fine. This only helps the medical-industrial compex."
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  • 0 0 0 Genii Sep. 10, 2012
    "I am going to say NO..I think it forces people to think they have something wrong with them when they really do not. I know there has been quite a few times when i thought I might have curtain symptoms and could benefit from a drug they were advertizing on the T.V. I am really thankful later that i did not go forward with my thoughts when I see that same drug in a law suit commercial later on down the road. Which by the way I am seeing a lot more almost as much as the commercials for prescription drugs."
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  • 0 0 0 Elle Sep. 10, 2012
    "Advertisements about prescription drugs in the United States are supposedly regulated by the FDA to ensure that they are not misleading or false, however, I know for a fact that in most cases these advertisements are very misleading to consumers. They also usually leave the consumer only partially informed about the product or any proposed health issue they suggest the consumer may have. It is because they are advertisements – and ads are meant to steer a person in a certain direction, whatever direction is in the interest of those behind the ads. Despite the fact that a pro argument is that these ads will help in educating consumers about diseases and drugs, I feel if there is going to be advertisements for educational reasons, then they should not be put out by any entity that may have a financial interest in that drug being sold, which is usually not the case."
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  • 0 0 0 Joann Aug. 11, 2012
    "Diagnose and prescribe in 30 seconds. Who needs medical school? Too much information and yet not enough You either trust your doctor or you don't, and if you don't you should find another doctor, not go in and demand that drug you saw at halftime on Sunday. Not to mention I don't want to explain erectile dysfunction ads to my ten year old. If there have to be ads in the interest of fre speech, at least keep them off radio and TV and limit them to print media where there's room for the fine print and you can keep it away from the kids."
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  • 0 0 0 Tim West Jun. 6, 2012
    "Who cares what the FDA says! Anyone ever hear of legal funk or synthetic cocaine that could be bought at head-shops, or smoke shops? This stuff was making people crazy as well as killing them. How does a product like this get into the market? not to mention how many pills get sold on the market and taken back off, because they too are hurting people. Where was the FDA? Television commercials should not be advertising at all except to the people that percribe these drugs. Persuasion is a learned skill and I am shore there is a darkside to having the skill of persuasion."
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  • 0 0 0 Peter Felland May. 1, 2012
    "I think no, because people might buy the wrong drugs for them and then it makes them even more sick than they were before."
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  • 0 0 0 jo butters Apr. 27, 2012
    "The U.S. is the only country in the world that allows prescription drug ads on television or radio. Our country runs on fear. and illness, real or imagined, is the fear that hits closest to home. It's the one fear that we feel we can control if we just talk to our doctor. Whats this doc, whats this; and take our meds.
    My mother never went to a doctor in her life other than to birth her children and lived to be eighty-seven without benefit of prescription drugs. My father wouldn't even take an aspirin.
    This is an alarming trend in our country. That we truely believe that there is something wrong with our heath, turns our minds from the real issues about our government and our world.
    Where is the backbone of the American people; our independence, our bravery in the face of adversity.
    We need to stand up, put down the pills, and start being strong in a way that makes our bodies and our country strong.
    Thank You"
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  • 0 0 0 Patty Mar. 29, 2012
    "I do not think drug advertising should be allowed. It causes too many people to ask their doctors for new medicines when, in most cases, an older, cheaper drug would usually be just as effective, and in some cases even better than the new one requested. We spend way too much money on drugs, that could be better spent, thereby making the drug companies rich. If the drug companies didn't spend so much on advertising, the drugs might be more affordable. There are too many similar drugs from competing drug manufacturers; all they have to do is include a different ingredient and claim a different result, and here comes another new drug, with a new name, for the same condition as the five or six (or ten or twelve) already on the market."
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  • 0 +2 -2 mark Jan. 6, 2012
    "maralbaro ads, alcohol , have been excluded. and those two are likely safer than prescription drugs,
    as its not sure how the drug actually works.
    and thoughts of suicide dont happen when i smoke a cig. or drink a beer.
    BAN THEM>"
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  • 0 +1 -1 Tom Powers Dec. 20, 2011
    "These ads create a demand for many "feel good" drugs. Anyone taking the time to actually read the potential side effects might not be demanding the prescription from their Doctor, who too often put aside that old Hippocratic oath for the perks that are dangled by the "Pharmacrooks".
    The effect on Medicare and Medicaid costs must be astronomical.
    I recently watched an ad for a skin care remedy which listed DEATH as a possibl "side efffect". What thinking person would risk death to cure the hearbreak of Psoriasis?"
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  • 0 +1 -1 William Swartz Dec. 12, 2011
    "Prescription drug prices are already at a criminally high level. Advertising them to the general public drives these prices even higher. If I cannot buy the product directly over the counter, then I should not have to see advertisements for it. The larcenous pharmaceutical companies should CEASE advertising their nostrums to the general public!"
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  • 0 +2 -2 dj Sep. 30, 2011
    "NO!!!!!! the cost of advertiseing is making the cost os percriptions go sky high!!!!!"
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    • 0 0 0 Lea Jan. 13, 2012
      "I'd bet one of their arguments is that a larger market will bring down costs in the long run. But trying to create that market purposely is unethical when it depends on convincing people they are sick, will be sick and how to manifest it. It's no different in principal from what the cigarette companies did. One was chemical and the other psychological. Pharmaceutical companies should be treated like tobacco and cigarette companies."
  • 0 +2 -2 Marie Jun. 9, 2011
    "NO,NO,AND NO. I'm sicker today because of medications that were perscribed to me before they should have even been on T.V.They were not ready to even be sold to people,not enough reserch done on them.and I'm sicker because of the sick affects they had on me.And I can't work or get benifits and have nothing.
    Lyrica ,and Raglan being two of them.(makes it too easy for people to want the help to fast when sick"
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  • 0 +3 -3 Joseph Dunford May. 23, 2011
    "Prescription drugs should not be advertised directly to consumers. One of the reasons that they are under prescription is that they are potentially dangerous substances that must be controlled. By allowing companies to use powerful powers of persuasion, the government lets the industry circumvent this control: the company convinces the consumer that he or she needs the substance; once convinced, the consumer pressures the doctor to prescribe a product, medically needed or not."
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  • 0 +3 -3 Terr May. 9, 2011
    "I don't think that DTC marketing should be allowed. There are far too many people who see a commercial on TV, and decide that would help them. They have no idea of what the actual dis-ease is, just that the ad says that it will help.

    IMO, this is like the cereal manufacturer's who advertized on Saturday mornings. Because the cereal was advertized during a show that they really liked, they convinced their parents to buy to buy it for them.

    Doctors and Pharmacist's have extensive training in their field's and should be used. The Pharma is trying to do an end run around the medical professionanl's, and are trying to influence the end user. Just like the cereal company's did.

    There is a caveat to this, though. -I- am responsible for what goes into my body. The Dr's can only do so much. It is the patient's responsibility to learn what you are ingesting and what the side effects are.

    Finally, if you don't trust your Doctor, change Doctor's."
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  • 0 +4 -4 CJF Heyberger Apr. 29, 2011
    "No!

    This promotes drug use,corrupts doctors, and increases Medicare expenses."
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    • -1 0 -1 eda Apr. 30, 2011
      "yes you are right"
  • 0 +4 -4 charles Apr. 29, 2011
    "By definintion, these substances must be prescribed by a physician. Direct advertising only serves to pressure the medical professional to write prescription in situations where life style change, OTC drugs or diet supplements would be more appropriate."
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  • 0 +3 -3 Ron Apr. 27, 2011
    "It seems wrong to allow companies to manipulate our views on something as vital as our health. Besides, the costs of those ads get passed along to us. I sure as hell don't want to pay extra just so I can be 'educated' about Viagra or Cialis and then feel compelled to buy it through my doctor/drug dealer. It's illegal in every damn country on Earth (except the US and New Zealand - which by the way does not even have prescription drugs) for a good reason."
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  • -1 0 -1 D Jun. 16, 2012
    "No, no, no. Drug ads not the whole reason but part of the following health care system that the WHO World Health Org rates: USA
    Quality overall: #72 just beating out Bhutan, Nicaragua, Iraq
    COST: #1 highest in the world... way ahead of everyone.

    Only 2 nations have ads. The other New Zealand ranks: 80 & 20... low quality... high cost.

    USA has 10 to 20% of it's people with no health insurance (they can not afford it). We do little prevent type health care, mostly wait then cut or pop the pills we see on the tube. The Germans spend half what we do, 100% are covered, no one ever goes bankrupt over Doc/Hosp bills & quality is excellent.

    Sadly nothing changes while Congress, executive branch & Supreme Court are owned by: in no particular order (sorry if I left someone out): 1. Big Oil 2. Big Pharma 3. Weapons makers 4. Insurance Co. 5. Banks 6. HMO lobby
    FYI;
    The internet covers any concern of available learning/info for those with heath issues. Type in symptoms & read, send/print to talk about with your Dr. If on meds. Type in "new meds/drugs/trial meds or drugs for xyz health issue". Fun this blog is running almost 10 to 1 againest ads. As long as Congress is owned they will continue!"
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  • -1 0 -1 Joe Feb. 14, 2012
    "As these drugs are dangerous, more danger comes when your DR. has a happy hand in writing the script. My partner had a complete work-over at VA and was told your healthy, however the Dr.sent him 4 prescriptions, why? He sent them down the toilet, good place for them, you wanna live long? Don't take prescription drugs."
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  • -3 +5 -8 Dale Apr. 29, 2011
    "they are the SNAKE CHARMERS and Snake Oil barkers of a hundred years ago.
    Anything for a buck attitude whilst pretending to help us.
    greedy (results of unwed parents that they are)"
    Write a Reply Replies (1)
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    • 0 0 0 manfredheidorn@hotma Nov. 15, 2011
      "You stole the words from my keyboard.

      Manfred"
  • -4 +2 -6 jefffrey Apr. 29, 2011
    "It creates boredom for people not making enthusistic commercials for the audience."
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