Let's petition congress to ban drug company advertising.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

Anyone else sick and tired of Big Pharma brain washing viewers, convincing them that they need to get Zirelto, Xanax, or any fucking statin ever manufactured? Adult onset diabetes? Muscle and Neuro damage? Screw that. Plus, those who take those drugs do NOT extent their lives nor make the quality of their lives any better. Often, it gets worse.

[SusanCalvin]

1. ABSOLUTELY! nt

[dchill]

2. Yes, please. Please!

[juxtaposed]

3. at one time they could not, same with lawyers. Years ago.

[SoLeftIAmRight]

4. Climate change and the sixth global mass-extinction event is happening now

...

[noretreatnosurrender]

5. I'm for that

Every night when we watch the news almost every commercial is for Drugs. It's pathetic.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

13. Luckily, half the ads are warnings about nasty side effects.

The whole system sucks, though

[noretreatnosurrender]

14. The Side Effects Are Jaw Dropping

There is no way I would take any of that shit.

[Warpy]

6. While I find the ethics of advertising medications to people who can't self prescribe awful

I have to disagree with the second part of your post. I'd be long dead without Big Pharma and it would have been a miserable way to go.

I do say that listing the possible side effects is a good thing. It certainly puts me off taking a lot of that stuff and quite likely cuts down on civilians clamoring for the new pill du jour. Still, the advertising directly to patients has worked well. All the most profitable drugs have been hawked directly to the public and that is appalling, too many people risking side effects of medications they do not need.

[meow2u3]

11. I disagree with you on the DTC advertising

DTC prescription drug advertising drives the costs of the advertised meds, influences doctors to prescribe them over cheaper, more effective generics, and opens the door for corruption of the doctor-patient relationship. Before legalization of prescription drug ads, brand name meds were more expensive, but not exorbitantly so. The "research and development" defense rings hollow in justifying price markups to the point where only the rich can afford the drugs. Besides, pharma companies spend more on marketing and PR than they do on R&D, the latter which is at least partially government subsidized.

What about the stories of pharma companies bribing doctors to push their heavily advertised medications, even if the side effects outweigh the beneficial ones or even if the patient doesn't need them?

[Warpy]

12. Looks like you didn't read my opinion on direct advertising.

[NightWatcher]

7. And Congress will listen to the Big Pharma lobbyists who give them cash or the people who signed a

silly petition.

The problem with trying to get them to do the right thing is that billions are given to them in order make sure they do the wrong things.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. You said a mouthful.

Now, take this pill 3x a day, with a meal.

If you feel dizzy, pain, back aches, hemorrhoids, bile upchuck, diarrhea, constipation, manic feelings, depression, blue spectrum blindness, spasms of the little toe, halitosis, Halliburton, sweating ears, elephantine tongue, vaginal teething, penile implant rejection, male breast enhancement, female breast reduction, excessive urination, and double vision with one eye closed, stop taking this medication, and seek medical attention immediately.

[Wounded Bear]

8. I'm pretty sure we're one of the few 1st world countries that allow it...

except that maybe we're not really 1st world any more.

[stuffmatters]

10. These saturation ads are depressing, just plain emmiserating to our national psyche

And why can't people (including children) watch tv without being forced taught about erectile dysfunction, and that older men need to take pills to keep their trophy wives.