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QOTD #35: Do drug ads come in handy?

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by genuinemommy, Nov 24, 2015.

  1. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    Have you ever asked your doc about a drug you saw advertised on TV?
    A friend?
    Do you feel they bring public attention to important illnesses such as depression?
    Or are they just a nuisance?

    A friend of mine is trying to circulate a petition to remove drug advertising from TV. I Don't see much point in signing it since I don't watch much TV withadvertisements. Still, wondering how much you care about this kind of stuff.
     
    genuinemommy, Nov 24, 2015
    #1
  2. rogue49

    rogue49 Tech Kung Fu Artist Staff Member

    Location:
    Baltimore/DC
    I've rarely done this for myself...but I did note them when I was with my ex-wife.
    With her 3 autoimmune diseases...and all the symptoms...and all the side-effects of her various on & off drugs...
    We were constantly on hunt for drugs to resolve issues and get right formula on the cocktail.

    Thank god I don't have to do this anymore...but it is a useful skill to have to evaluate medicine and bring it to the attention of our doctors,
    especially for the latter years of my mother and the rest of the family. (or me, many years down the line perhaps)
     
    rogue49, Nov 24, 2015
    #2
    • Like Like x 1
  3. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    I've never lived in a country where drug ads are allowed.

    I have seen them on American TV, or in US magazines from time to time. I don't think they are helpful.
     
    Charlatan, Nov 24, 2015
    #3
    • Like Like x 1
  4. Stan

    Stan Resident Dumbass

    Location:
    Colorado
    I can easily go the rest of my life without seeing another Viagra ad.

    I think the information should be readily available; but advertising seems inappropriate.
     
    Stan, Nov 24, 2015
    #4
  5. martian

    martian Server Monkey Staff Member

    Location:
    Mars
    I didn't know much about this so I asked the internet. The NIH has a rather helpful summary on the issue.

    Interestingly, the kind of advertising commonly seen in the US is only legal there and in New Zealand. Every other country bans some or all direct to consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies.

    It doesn't seem like a good idea to me. As a patient I don't consider myself qualified to evaluate the efficacy or appropriateness of a treatment on my own, and I don't especially trust the manufacturer to present an unbiased view. I'd much rather seek recommendations from a qualified physician than from a TV ad.

    I do sometimes frequent online spaces for IBD sufferers and it's struck me that US patients are different from people from other places. It seems that in the US people are more ready to demand or refuse specific treatments, or make potentially significant lifestyle changes without consulting a healthcare professional. I think being an active participant in your healthcare decisions is a good thing but I also think it's important to recognize the limits of your own knowledge and experience. Insofar as this trend actually exists (and I'm well aware that my perspective hardly constitutes proof that it does) I wonder how much it's influenced by pharmaceutical company advertisements, or what other factors might encourage that kind of behaviour.

    If the above linked article is to be believed this is considered a first amendment issue in the US so banning this kind of advertising there is unlikely.
     
    martian, Nov 24, 2015
    #5
    • Like Like x 1
  6. Charlatan

    Charlatan sous les pavés, la plage

    Location:
    Temasek
    This.

    I understand that these ads in the US fall under the whole "freedom of speech" ideal, but the unbiased presentation by manufactures, is hugely problematic.
     
    Charlatan, Nov 24, 2015
    #6
    • Like Like x 1
  7. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    I don't take any drugs, so it's not like I care. I skip past them.

    Now, what would be better for everyone would be if med school could be semi-anonymously funded by the drug companies, and they could present their findings to the new students when those topics came up. And the students would get up to date info on the latest treatments. Current doctors could get the same information at their continuing education conferences. Patients and people worried that they have symptoms can search the internet for the best treatment.
     
    ASU2003, Nov 25, 2015
    #7
  8. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!


    I've been to med school, and I deal with the pharmaceutical industry on a daily basis.
    Trust me when I say that this would definitely not be better for everyone, much less anyone.
    Drug companies already wield tremendous influence with the money they throw around, and they do it with the intention of making more money, not because they like helping people out.
    You may wish to review what J&J has done with their drug Risperdal; they are not unique in this behavior.

    Johnson & Johnson And The Big Lies Of Big Pharma | On Point with Tom Ashbrook

    Having them involved in funding and making curriculum for medical school would be welcoming the fox to the hen house.
     
    fflowley, Nov 25, 2015
    #8
    • Like Like x 1
  9. Lindy

    Lindy Moderator Staff Member

    Location:
    Nebraska
    Not from TV, but from a magazine ad. I had a toenail fungus that would not go away. I showed the ad to my doctor, and he had never heard of it. After doing a little research, he prescribed the drug, and it cleared up the fungus in a short time.
    It's also important to recognize the limits of a doctor's knowledge. With new drugs coming on market all the time, even the most qualified and competent physician probably has trouble keeping current. My doc said that he appreciated my input, and now he has a tool that he didn't have before.
     
    Lindy, Nov 25, 2015
    #9
    • Like Like x 1
  10. snowy

    snowy so kawaii Staff Member

    I didn't know IBS was a thing until I saw an ad on television for some medicine for it. My doctor said I could probably try controlling it through diet, so I did. I now only have sporadic flare-ups, which is a huge improvement. This was about 10 years ago.
     
    snowy, Nov 25, 2015
    #10
    • Like Like x 1
  11. genuinemommy

    genuinemommy Moderator Staff Member

    Never saw an ad for it, but...

    When I was pregnant with Littlegirly, my doc gave me some free samples of high end vegetarian prenatal vitamins to try out. I didn't find them very useful at the time and they just kinda hung out in the cabinet until I ran out of my usual stuff.

    Fast forward to postpartum depression issues with Tinygirly and the same vegetarian prenatal vitamins came up. Made the switch and soon realized what a big difference it could make to have a prenatal/postnatal vitamin designed for my diet.
     
    genuinemommy, Nov 25, 2015
    #11
  12. ASU2003

    ASU2003 Very Tilted

    Location:
    Where ever I roam
    Yes, but doctors and med students would be in a better position to call them out on their lies. Where as individual patients who know very little of drug studies, medical research, and drug interactions wouldn't. Especially when they are making one-sided 30 second to 120 second commercials right now.

    And it wouldn't be making curriculum, just that they would be able to present their results and clinical trial processes when compared to other treatments when discussing those diseases and symptoms. So you don't have patients knowing about drugs that doctors have never heard of before
     
    ASU2003, Nov 25, 2015
    #12
  13. fflowley

    fflowley Don't just do something, stand there!

    ASU I hear you but medical education works a little differently for medical students.
    They take a dedicated pharmacology course, usually taught by PhD pharmacologists and physicians and get all the current info on drugs. They hear all the pros and cons of different treatments.
    At the point they are taking that course they're usually just a year out of undergrad. They know almost nothing about the practice of medicine, and certainly not enough to cut through drug company hype.
    And this would almost certainly evolve to the drug company making the curriculum. Once the departments take their funding they become dependent on it. The threat of losing substantial sums of money and the jobs and prestige that go along with it would be too much to resist.

    Practicing physicians out of school do need to learn about new drugs that come along and the pharma companies have various ways of getting the info out.
     
    fflowley, Nov 25, 2015
    #13
    • Like Like x 2
  14. POPEYE

    POPEYE Very Tilted

    Location:
    Tulsa
    Sandy and I laughed when a lawsuit ad came on after the ad for the same drug. So no, nope, no help.
     
    POPEYE, Nov 28, 2015
    #14
    • Like Like x 1