speech

One of my favorite shows right now is Modern Family and aside from Glee, it’s the only show I watch primetime instead of DVR-ing it for the weekend. So instead of sitting for 22 minutes without any commercial interruptions, like when I watch a recording, I sit and enjoy 30 minutes of pure comedy along with the always aggravating TV commercials. From the most recent holiday episode, there were movie trailers for New Year’s Eve and Young Adult, retail and car commercials for Best Buy and Toyota, and of course, prescription drug ads like Cymbalta and Claritin. Not only are these medicinal commercials on the rise during TV shows on major networks, they are also on in between the news, and even featured on family friendly channels like abc family and TLC.

The United States is the only developed country that allows the direct-to-consumer advertising or DTCA of prescription medication. These prescription medication commercials have increased compared to a decade ago and have become so effective that pharmaceutical companies choose to spend millions of dollars just to advertise them for 40 seconds. This has raised the awareness of diseases in audiences, better called consumers, to ask doctors for prescriptions. Not only has this distorted what “sick” means but has persuaded consumers to take medication that can be harmful to their health.

Aside from people who use Netflix or watch DVR recordings all the time, the majority of TV viewers are familiar with multiple jingles for many drugs. Although I know the typical “Live Claritin Clear” (giant smiley face) or “Depression hurts, Cymbalta can help,” my brother who watches more TV was easily able to recite even more. “All you need is Midol. Because your period's more than a pain. ” or “The nighttime sniffling sneezing coughing aching stuffy head fever so you can rest medicine by NyQuil.” Not only was he able to remember the name of the drug, but its uses, and what it treats. More and more of these commercials have become memorable featuring celebrities or using emotional appeals which Big Pharma companies will spend over 30 billion dollars like in 2005.

Before this commercial craze, prescription drugs were advertised in pamphlets at doctors’ offices while people were waiting for their appointment. Such awareness of a vast amount of drugs were relatively unknown compared to the amount of knowledge we have today.

With the increased presence of drug commercials, there is a growing awareness of medicine and its uses so people are becoming more paranoid, thinking they may be showing signs of diseases. The meaning of “sick” has been blurred by pharmaceutical companies emphasizing vague symptoms that anyone can show. Is that cough that sounded slightly different this morning a sign? Does “at risk” equal you’re sick? Can you really be diagnosed by a TV pitchman who you’ve never seen before? Consumers think so. People will go to doctors with a grocery list of prescription drugs that they think they need. And many times, doctors will prescribe it because they are also a part of the business world. Although people think this will solve all their problems, in many cases, it can have the opposite effect and be detrimental to their health. For example, Lyrica or Topamax which are both drugs that treat seizures have been used for migraines and general pain. And the use of painkillers has gone up 88% in the last 9 years.

At the same time, some will say that it is worth pharmaceutical companies spending and essentially investing so much money to advertise their products because it does raise awareness. While the United States may be advanced in medicine, many don’t see the point in routine check-ups when they think nothing is wrong. Although the awareness of drugs can exaggerate diseases, people are nonetheless knowledge of it.

It’s not right when a 12-year-old boy knows at least five jingles for prescription drugs and can recite them one after another without even understanding what period pains are. It’s wrong when a commercial for Cialis, an erectile dysfunction drug is featured on abc family. And something really needs to change if pharmaceutical companies can call themselves educational and research organizations when they spend 24.4% on advertising compared to 13.4% on research of $235.4 billion. In the last decade, awareness seems to have increased just as much as the amount of money companies have made. Instead of making news about the latest research and advances made in medicine, pharmaceutical companies are making records of how much they have been able to make.

Prescription drug commercials are like the pop-up ads on the Internet with the blinking lights, or the fraudulent emails people get of a sob story asking for money. Everyone knows it’s fake and not to click on it, but there’s that one person, that one person, who gives in to the urge to do so. Pharmaceutical companies are no longer research institutions to help people in need. Instead, they are a multi-billion dollar big pharma business corporation in search of the next product to make big bucks.

Ronit, Ridberg, Prod. Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease & Pushing Drugs. A Media Education Foundation Production: 2006, Film.

“Cymbalta Commercial.” Courtesy of medstores.net: 22 Aug 2010. Television. 2 Aug 2011.

Moynihan, Ray, and Alan Cassels. Selling Sickness: How the World’s Biggest Pharmaceutical Companies Are Turning Us All Into Patients. First. New York, NY: Nation Books, 2005. Print.

Rosenberg, Martha. “How Big Pharma’s Deceptive Advertising Helps Addict Patients, Screw Over Doctors and Jack Up Insurance Rates.” AlterNet(18 April 2011): n. pag. Web. 1 Aug 2011.

Gapper, John. “In Praise of Big Pharma’s Me-Too Drugs.” Financial Times UK 2 December 2004: n. pag. Web. 3 Aug 2011.