Advertising pharmceuticals

[cave76]

The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world that allow advertising of pharmaceuticals (DTC= Direct to Consumer) on TV or in magazines.I personally think that the rest of the world is more 'advanced' in that way, in that area.

But I can see pros and cons for both ways.

I've been to doctors who have given me totally wrong advice.

I've also been on some health forums where one of the more popular threads was the benefits of coffee enemas---- I mean LOTS of them. (A friend dubbed them Reverse Lattes.)

The NHS has been considering relaxing those restrictions---- probably since the Internet's arrival. Does the NHS want people to get their drug/health questions from doctors or from the general public in health forums? That may be one of the undecided points.

What do you think? Anyone?

 

[pacanis]

Coffee enemas?!
What's next? K-cup suppositories?

Oh I'm sorry, what was the question?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Drug advertising should stop, now.

 

[cave76]

@Pacanis---- K-cup suppository? YEE--OW-OW-CH!!!

I think I'm with you, PF---- even though I waffled a bit. Truthfully now, everyone----- can you even HEAR those words that are piled on top of each other about the 'dangers' of drugs on TV?

Or read those teensy tiny words (package insert) in a magazine? Come on now!!!! That's really an insult to me.

 

[Andy M.]

We laugh at them. Some of the side effects, when compared to the benefit, are comical.

"May cause leprosy, shingles, heart disease and death, but you'll have nice long eyelashes!"

 

[PrincessFiona60]

The advertising makes it very difficult for doctors to do their jobs. It was bad enough when patients would not leave with out a new script, now they have the names of specific drugs they most likely do not need and won't leave until they have it.

Big Pharm should get out of advertising and go back to research where they belong.

 

[Rocket_J_Dawg]

The advertising makes it very difficult for doctors to do their jobs. It was bad enough when patients would not leave with out a new script, now they have the names of specific drugs they most likely do not need and won't leave until they have it.

Big Pharm should get out of advertising and go back to research where they belong.

+1 100% And most of the drugs advertised are drugs that are not normally needed. Other, less dangerous drugs could do the exact same thing. Might take a bit longer to relieve what ever is the symptom, but a lot safer.

 

[jabbur]

I've always hated the drug advertising. While I fully believe one needs to be informed to be their own health advocate, these ads don't really benefit the consumer. They don't give enough information and don't address drug interactions. Your doctor knows about these drugs since most pharmaceutical companies send people out to teach the doctors about the new drugs and give them samples to try. Trust your doctor and ask questions about why s/he put you on that particular one. Don't trust the drug company. They are in business to make money, not take care of you.

 

[cave76]

The advertising makes it very difficult for doctors to do their jobs. It was bad enough when patients would not leave with out a new script, now they have the names of specific drugs they most likely do not need and won't leave until they have it.

Big Pharm should get out of advertising and go back to research where they belong.

Isn't that butterfly in the Lunesta ads just the cutest little darn thing you've ever seen??

 

[cave76]

Jabbur said:
"these ads don't really benefit the consumer. They don't give enough information and don't address drug interactions."

What? You don't have ears capable of picking out the drug interactions in those TV ads that are spoken at twice the speed of sound???

Drug Ads Play Up Benefits, Downsize Risks : NPR

 

[Steve Kroll]

The advertising makes it very difficult for doctors to do their jobs. It was bad enough when patients would not leave with out a new script, now they have the names of specific drugs they most likely do not need and won't leave until they have it.

It's all because of the phrase "Talk to your doctor about <drug name> to see if <drug name> is right for you.

 

[cave76]

It's all because of the phrase "Talk to your doctor about <drug name> to see if <drug name> is right for you.

Takes the ad men/manufacturers/TV stations off the hook, right? Sigh.

 

[Andy M.]

Isn't that butterfly in the Lunesta ads just the cutest little darn thing you've ever seen??

I'm still trying to figure out why there are two cast iron bathtubs in the Cialis ads.

 

[Addie]

The advertising makes it very difficult for doctors to do their jobs. It was bad enough when patients would not leave with out a new script, now they have the names of specific drugs they most likely do not need and won't leave until they have it.

Big Pharm should get out of advertising and go back to research where they belong.

I have to agree very strongly PF. I worked for three years for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in the research and trials divisions. You would be surprised at how many drugs were started for field trials and stopped after about a month when patients were dropping as fast as they were signed up. A lot of these drugs they are advertising are actually in their third or fourth round of trials. They have been approved by the FDA for the public consumption with the agreement that more trials are needed.

Enbrel. A drug for skin condition, mostly Psoriasis. What the doctor doesn't tell you is that it will clear up the skin, but you can only be on it for four months. Then when you stop using it, the disease comes back with a vengeance. Yet it is advertised as the answer to all your problems. Forever!

I handled the paper work for the trials. I was also eligible for the trials. But because I worked for the company that made the drug, for ethical reasons, I turned down the opportunity. Thank heavens I did.

Your doctor is only human. Constantly being bombarded for drugs that you don't need begins to wear him down. Do yourself and your doctor a favor. Let him do his job. That is what his eight to ten years of training was for.

 

[Zhizara]

I don't get the 2 bathtubs either. The required listing of all the possible side effects makes for a very long commercial and is a definite turn off for most prospective users. Why bother advertising at all?

 

[cave76]

I have to agree very strongly PF. I worked for three years for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in the research and trials divisions. You would be surprised at how many drugs were started for field trials and stopped after about a month when patients were dropping as fast as they were signed up. A lot of these drugs they are advertising are actually in their third or fourth round of trials. They have been approved by the FDA for the public consumption with the agreement that more trials are needed.

Enbrel. A drug for skin condition, mostly Psoriasis. What the doctor doesn't tell you is that it will clear up the skin, but you can only be on it for four months. Then when you stop using it, the disease comes back with a vengeance. Yet it is advertised as the answer to all your problems. Forever!

I handled the paper work for the trials. I was also eligible for the trials. But because I worked for the company that made the drug, for ethical reasons, I turned down the opportunity. Thank heavens I did.

Your doctor is only human. Constantly being bombarded for drugs that you don't need begins to wear him down. Do yourself and your doctor a favor. Let him do his job. That is what his eight to ten years of training was for.

And now more trials are fast-tracked and brought to the public too soon in order to start making money sooner.

That's why I prefer (when there's a choice, and there usually is) an older drug---- one that's already shown where it's weaknesses are.

 

[Addie]

And now more trials are fast-tracked and brought to the public too soon in order to start making money sooner.

That's why I prefer (when there's a choice, and there usually is) an older drug---- one that's already shown where it's weaknesses are.

It is true that it does cost millions of dollars to bring a drug to market. Starting with the salaries of the scientists, all the lab workers, supplies, etc. Then the manufacturing of the trial drug, the doctors who participate in the studies, patients, and the support staff back at the office who take care of the paper trail and read those reports that come back from the trial doctors. Then the cost of preparing the reports for the FDA. I haven't even mentioned all the other costs. So it can be understandable why they are in a rush to get the drug to market.

 

[cave76]

Yes, I understand there are many $$$$ reasons to get a new drug to market, and especially if that new drug might be the 'breakthrough' drug for a very serious disease for which no available drugs did much good for the majority.

I'd probably would be the first one to try one, if I had refractory cancer, end-stage kidney problems etc. You bet! I'd probably also try some off-the-wall solutions too.

But I'm still concerned about fast-tracking. As Fierce Pharma states:

"When the FDA puts drugs on the fast track for approval, they do make it to market sooner. But they're tested for a shorter period of time than are drugs reviewed under the agency's standard process, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association. And that has researchers worried."

""The testing of new drugs has shifted from a situation in which most testing was conducted prior to initial approval to a situation in which many innovative drugs are more rapidly approved after a small trial in a narrower patient population with extensive additional testing conducted after approval,"

That makes the general public their lab rats too.

JAMA: Fast-tracked drugs tested less, with follow-up studies lagging - FiercePharma

The Jama abstract can be found on PubMed:
PMID: 24166236

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Isn't that butterfly in the Lunesta ads just the cutest little darn thing you've ever seen??

My doctor says I am not a good candidate for Lunesta. I live alone, I sleep naked, and I own a convertible.

 

[cave76]

My doctor says I am not a good candidate for Lunesta. I live alone, I sleep naked, and I own a convertible.

You sleep in your convertible???