American television is hilariously scary
In the United Kingdom, for people that are unaware, we have a government body called the National Institution for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). When a new drug or medical practice is introduced this group of medical experts decided on the populations behalf if the product or service should be part of the National Health Service (NHS).
Some things are deemed too expensive while others may carry to many risks for too little gain, either way what NICE deem appropriate the NHS follows and due to it all being provided by the taxation of the general public there is no need for advertising other than for over the counter drugs for heartburn, headaches or haemorrhoids if you are so lucky.
Now the American system is not based on the British model and pharmaceutical companies are free to sell to clinical practitioners, all good, it works, just like the British system works with its failings. Neither model is perfect.
What is truly amazing about America is that the general public are the informed masses. The advertising is aimed at them and the choice is theirs to make.
I have lost count of the number of adverts on TV that are promoting medication and some of it would scare the crap out of me if I had a condition,
Some drugs seem to have more possible negative effects than the one positive effect that it aims to achieve.
One arthritis drug does warn that it is not for everyone and you should find the drug to suit you with the help of your doctor but at the risk of possible death, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, stomach bleeding, cardiovascular problems, kidney and liver damage, ulcers, indigestion, diarrhoea, abdominal pain or allergic reactions I think I'll give it a miss all together.
Amazingly people are still not put off because these drugs must be selling to allow the adverts to be there.
Now assuming in my older age I was to have problems in the pants department and someone said I have a drug that can cure the problem of erectile dysfunction but there is a good chance that the side effects are head ache, back ache, muscle ache and upset stomach, I might just do like the millions of others and say OK for the sake of a little discomfort I will ingest this seemingly innocent capsule and be transformed into a wrinkly wild stallion for a few hours. Unfortunately this isn't the case because the other side effects are possible permanent partial blindness! Now in my book that is a little risky and my mother’s warning about playing with it too much as a kid is flooding back.
What is the point of taking a drug to help your sex life if you cannot see what you are doing?
D
oubtless these drugs are helping many millions of people but the question I
am still left with is how does direct to consumer advertising help the system.
This may be controversial but the gauntlet of scaring people off with side effects is one part in addition to flooding the system with patients self-diagnosing problems, these drugs are not aimed at the common cold but at acute conditions that need medical diagnosis not lay decision making based on over emotional adverts light on factual content.
Information:In the United Kingdom, for people that are unaware, we have a government body called the National Institution for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). When a new drug or medical practice is introduced this group of medical experts decided on the populations behalf if the product or service should be part of the National Health Service (NHS).
Some things are deemed too expensive while others may carry to many risks for too little gain, either way what NICE deem appropriate the NHS follows and due to it all being provided by the taxation of the general public there is no need for advertising other than for over the counter drugs for heartburn, headaches or haemorrhoids if you are so lucky.
Now the American system is not based on the British model and pharmaceutical companies are free to sell to clinical practitioners, all good, it works, just like the British system works with its failings. Neither model is perfect.
What is truly amazing about America is that the general public are the informed masses. The advertising is aimed at them and the choice is theirs to make.
I have lost count of the number of adverts on TV that are promoting medication and some of it would scare the crap out of me if I had a condition,
Some drugs seem to have more possible negative effects than the one positive effect that it aims to achieve.
One arthritis drug does warn that it is not for everyone and you should find the drug to suit you with the help of your doctor but at the risk of possible death, gastrointestinal haemorrhage, stomach bleeding, cardiovascular problems, kidney and liver damage, ulcers, indigestion, diarrhoea, abdominal pain or allergic reactions I think I'll give it a miss all together.
Amazingly people are still not put off because these drugs must be selling to allow the adverts to be there.
Now assuming in my older age I was to have problems in the pants department and someone said I have a drug that can cure the problem of erectile dysfunction but there is a good chance that the side effects are head ache, back ache, muscle ache and upset stomach, I might just do like the millions of others and say OK for the sake of a little discomfort I will ingest this seemingly innocent capsule and be transformed into a wrinkly wild stallion for a few hours. Unfortunately this isn't the case because the other side effects are possible permanent partial blindness! Now in my book that is a little risky and my mother’s warning about playing with it too much as a kid is flooding back.
What is the point of taking a drug to help your sex life if you cannot see what you are doing?
D
oubtless these drugs are helping many millions of people but the question I
am still left with is how does direct to consumer advertising help the system.This may be controversial but the gauntlet of scaring people off with side effects is one part in addition to flooding the system with patients self-diagnosing problems, these drugs are not aimed at the common cold but at acute conditions that need medical diagnosis not lay decision making based on over emotional adverts light on factual content.
US Drug Advertising
Self-Diagnosis: A Discursive Systematic Review of the Medical Literature
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