The United States of Advertising (BBC) {interesting POV!}

By Kevin Connolly
BBC News, Washington

America is, I think, the only country in the world which permits advertising of drugs which are available only through your doctor.

The insidious message is simple; if your doctor is not offering you this drug, maybe you should be asking for it.

Americans do accept advertising in areas where it does not tend to appear elsewhere.
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They are a daily reminder of the many ways in which America - superficially so similar to Western Europe - is really profoundly different.

Those adverts with their sure sense of how to play on our doubts and insecurities are a symptom of the restless energy of American capitalism and of the belief that it can apply to issues of health and happiness just as readily as it can apply to polish or pet food.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/7453357.stm

principle, but she said it is a giant waste of time to keep telling patients that what they are asking about is not for their ailment. The Medical community spends tons of time answering the "ask your doctor" questions. This is especially annoying when most of the drugs advertised don't even tell the patient what they are for.

She told us there have been some really funny questions asked. No, viagra is not for gout and certain pills for women will not cure your ED...could go on forever.

What really sends me into a furor is the "possible side affects"...they are worse than the problem.

(Your daughter might know it)

Viagra was really supposed to be for heart ailments. A group of people were put on it as part of the research needed. Then the originating Pharmaceutical Company found out that it didn't do a thing for heart ailments. It didn't make your heart condition better or worse, but the people in the study needed to be on medication that would help their hearts, rather than do nothing.

The pharmaceutical company sent out letters asking people to send the Viagra back. They got NO replies. They began telephoning the people, asking them to send it back, and explaining why. People still did not send it back.

They sent represenataives out in the field to knock on the doors and ask for it back.

People said, "I'm not giving it back." When asked why, they admitted, "Well, it might not be helping my heart, but it has this amazing side effect."

And the rest is pharmaceutical history.

THAT is a major problem right there!

But a little thing like that shouldn't get in the way of profits ...

I can't mute the TV fast enough when those grinning boomer rocker guys snazz it up with their "Viva Erection" tune.

One station had an advertisement about a class action lawsuit against Advair & when I flipped to the other station there was an advertisement for Advair. :crazy:

Oh & last night my thumb was twitching & my husband suggested I needed meds for restless thumb syndrome. ;)

My theory is that this may be at the root of why we Americans are so passive about the state of our nation these days. Everything's become about marketing, which is a one-way flow of information. The consumer just receives it in a constant stream and is never encouraged to think or act independently.