The age of advertising today is not what it used to be years ago. Pharmaceutical companies are spending on average billions of dollars to market their drugs directly to the consumers. With this comes a potential harm to some consumers due to the fact that they feel like they are free to ask for anything that may stop the symptoms they have. Should the FDA take a stand in putting a stop to how certain drugs are marketed, or just continue to let it get out of control? Who should be able to control the prescriptions: the patient or the doctor?
Take the drug Prozac for our first example: it’s in rock lyrics, magazines, books and billboards. I don’t think there are too many people who have not heard of it or that in some point of their lives were not on it. Many parents are turning to their children’s doctor to put them on it because of problems they may be having at home.
In an article from The Economist I found that it is illegal in Europe to advertise prescription drugs. They are allowed to market they’re over the counter drugs but an advertisement for a prescription drug can only be found in
medical journals. It was felt that advertising prescriptions filled the heads of consumers and it could undermine the doctor’s authority.
Lilly Pharmaceutical company did a two page spread on Prozac that had one page with a dark rainy sky with the words “Depression Hurts” and on the other side was a bright sunny sky with the words “Prozac can help”.(Vol.344) Prozac may be good for some people but for others it may not be the drug they need, and because of ads like that they feel the need to pressure their physician for a prescription for it. Can it really help put sunny days back into a miserable life?
America has allowed direct to consumer advertising for over a decade now but to date there have been no claims that anyone has been hurt by it. In television ads the companies are prepared to pay the cost that it takes to tell the consumer to talk to their doctor if they have any of the symptoms listed and they must also give a brief run down on some of the possible side effects.
Most drug manufacturers tend to argue that raising awareness of certain diseases helps to achieve an overall improvement in public health. “Lilly...
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...now that I am guilty myself of seeing ads on television or in magazines that make me wonder whether or not I need to be on it. Of course as luck would have it, when Lilly launched their drug Sarafem which is a drug to treat premenstrual disforic disorder or PMDD, I did seek the advice of my doctor just in part to the symptoms they listed. This is something that I suffered with for years and blamed it on my birth-control pills. Yes, I had those days when I looked in the mirror and wondered who was looking at me. Irritability, hateful attitude, you name it I experienced it so I thank Lilly for their advertisement.
Even though the FDA does what they can to regulate drugs and their contents, I don’t know if we can blame them for the advertising that takes place with these companies. Maybe the U.S. needs to head up their own DTCA committee to help protect consumers from diagnosing themselves and not leaving it up to the doctors to do their jobs.
Bibliography
The Medical Post, September 15, 1998 issue.
The Medical Post, May 22, 2001 issue, Vol. 34
The Medical Post, November 24, 1999 issue, Vol. 35.
The Economist, August 9, 1997 issue, Vol. 344
Despite bouncing around the era a bit, the book flows well and the author's story telling easily keeps the reader turning pages. Though there is a strong bias to the patriotic elite, Ellis manages to keep in most respects a reasonably objective vantage point in the narrative and acknowledges that these Founding Brothers were indeed mere mortals, which fate or providence placed perfectly it seems.
In Melody Peterson’s “Our Daily Meds” , the history of marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical industry is explored. The first chapter of the book, entitled “Creating disease”, focuses on how major pharmaceutical companies successfully create new ailments that members of the public believe exist. According to Peterson, the success that these drug manufacturers have experienced can be attributed to the malleability of disease, the use of influencial people to promote new drugs, the marketing behind pills, and the use of media outlets.
In America today, many people are in need of medical help. In fact,the Federal Trade Commission estimates that 75% of the population complain of physical problems (Federal Trade Commission 9). They complain, for example, of fatigue, colds, headaches, and countless other "ailments." When these symptoms strike, 65% purchase over-the counter, or OTC, drugs. In order to take advantage of this demand, five billion dollars is spent by the pharmaceutical industry on marketing each year . This marketing, usually in the form of advert...
In Federalist Paper Number 10, Madison sees Factions as being inevitable. Humans hold differing opinions and are all living under different circumstances, and are likely to group together with those most like themselves. Some groups of people will attempt to work together to benefit themselves even if it goes against public interests and even if it infringes upon the rights of others. In the Federalist Paper Number 10, Madison feared that Factions could be detrimental to the common good and in order to minimize the effects and control the effects of Factions, the best form of government would be a large republic. According to Madison, to minimize the negative consequences of Factions, they must either be controlled or the causes of Factions must be removed. Since he describes the causes of Factions being the different interests and living conditions between individuals, it can be argued that this solution is not very feasible. It would be impossible to make sure every single person makes the same amount of money, has the same goals, and even goes through similar life experiences. The greatest source of Factions, the deepest and biggest cause of Factions, according to Madison, is the unequal distribution of property. The acquisition of property or lack of property creates class divisions the foster differing interests. Since it is not possible to
The framework for this novel was placed by Ellis around the pivotal figures of the American Revolution, dubbed the revolutionary generation. He begins in the prologue by disclaiming to the reader that the events discussed in this novel should be interpreted in hindsight, as well as foresight, claiming that the topics discussed may be factual, but also misconstrued in different ways. It seems that the main idea of this novel is that, while being essentially accurate, the topics discussed may be representative of given individuals’ personal recollection. It will bring to light the different ideas of the founding brothers, as the novel calls them, and compare and contrast them in a non-biased manner.
Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads are dangerous and can have serious effects on the health of the general public. In the article “Pros & Cons Arguments: ‘Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?’”, the pros and cons of the advertising of prescription drugs are compared. The negative aspects of these ads outweigh that of the positives. DTC prescription drug ads misinform patients, promote over-usage, and pressure medical providers. The counter side argues that these ads inform patients, create a positive impact on patient compliance with medication, and cause patients to confront their doctors.
In Melody Peterson’s “Our Daily Meds” , the history of marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical industry is explored. The first chapter of the book, entitled “Creating disease”, focuses on how major pharmaceutical companies successfully create new ailments that members of the public believe exist. According to Peterson, the success that these drug manufacturers have experienced can be attributed to the malleability of disease, the use of influencial people to promote new drugs and the efficient usage of media outlets.
To explain the link between unequal distribution of property and factions, Madison first clarifies the origin of unequal distribution of property. He states people are born with different talents, attitudes, and physical/mental powers. These inherent qualities he called faculties are rewarded by society. According to Madison, “From the protection of different and unequal faculties of acquiring property, the possession degrees and kinds of property immediately results. (Page 64)” Society prizes some faculties and disregards other, based on people’s needs and culture norms. This fact makes people who were born with compelling aptness will be rewarded more property than others. When a society is liberal, the goal of government is to protect the individual’s rights and property. Since individuals will always have different faculties, the diversity in the faculties of men will always lead to unequal distribution of property.
since the FDA allowed companies to advertise directly to consumers we saw an increase in
“If men were angels, no government would be necessary” (Madison, Federalist No. 51), said Madison in Federalist 51 In Federalist No. 51. This quote basically says everything about Madison’s political theory and how he felt the country should have been ran. In federalist No. 10, Madison stood for the republican government that was proposed by the constitution. He states that the only way to control factions within states is to make a representative form of government. Madison states “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention… as short in their lives as they have been violent in the deaths” (Madison, Federalist No. 10). Madison believes that with democracies come factions, these “special interest groups” as we call them now and with these groups comes unequal balances that they would make in society. Although in Federalist No. 10, Madison mainly argues against having a full democratic government, I believe as we see later that Madison believes in our now present form of government, a two-party system. I believe his true core values were to have the government keep a fair and balanced setting with the whole spectrum of society. In Federalist No. 51, Madison talks about the works of checks and balances and how important it is to the government. I believe Madison’s core values were the fairness and safety of the over all government as a whole. When upholding these standards, he wanted to make sure that the power of the government in future actions was safe and that it was a base to start building upon.
Why do consumers purchase specific drugs for various ailments, sicknesses or diseases they might have? Why do physicians prescribe certain drugs over competitive drugs that may be available to the public? Why is it that most of us can easily name specific drugs that fit the many ailments of today’s society? On the surface the answer might be as simple as good TV advertising or radio commercials or even internet adds. The truth of matter is the major pharmaceutical manufacturers own the patents on these drugs and this gives them all of the marketing budget and muscle they need to promote the drug and control the pricing. The incentives for larger pharmaceutical companies are very enticing and as a result, they don’t mind spending the time in clinical trials and patent courts to get their drugs approved. Some will even get patents on the process by which the drug is manufactured, ensuring that no competitor can steal the drug or the process. This protects their large financial investment and nearly guarantees a large return for their investors. Many consumer rights groups claim this is nothing more than legalizing monopolies for the biggest manufacturers.
Pharmaceuticals are arguably one of the most contentious of all goods and services traded in the market. While medicines are as much a necessity as foods and water, they require more technical expertise and official approbation in the manufacture. Above all, they carry a moral weight that most market products do not (The Economist, 2014). This idea of moral can be linked to the recurring debate over whether a good health (which is represented by medicines, in this case) should be considered a basic human right, or just a normal commodity. A large portion of such controversy actually lies in an existence of drug patents: should we promote for longer-lasting patents or should we have their duration shortened?
Feminist therapy dates back to the 1960’s, and is derived from the realities that lie outside, beneath, and at variance from the visions of the dominant patriarchal mainstream (Brown, n.d). Feminist therapy incorporates a worldview that no one should be constrained to stereotypical roles on the basis of their gender. As well as creating a setting where clients can work towards their own empowerment, as well as learn how to relate to others in ways that are responsible, healthy, and caring (Corey, 2013).
“According to the General Accounting Office, more than half of the prescription drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) between 1976 and 1985 caused serious side effects that later caused the drugs to be either relabeled or removed from the market. Drugs app...
Initially, when we read James Madison we learn the nature of factions. Factions play an important role in human nature because they are vessels of opinions. The opinion of one individual is not enough to cause change. Factions solve this by uniting people with similar opinions and allowing them to urge for change. Madison realized the unrelenting force of a faction left to grow without restraint. They were dangerous because they were often violent and disruptive often being called the “weakness of popular government”. At worst, they lead to civil war and at the least the inhibited the execution of public policy. While he acknowledge that the easiest way to remove a faction was to destroy their liberties, he knew that this would mean to declare a war on human nature. He also understood that removing their liberty would mean removing the liberty of others, which he did not want. Instead, he suggested controlling the effects of majority faction...