When you think of prescription drugs, what comes to mind? What immediately thrust itself to the forefront of my consciousness are those annoying television commercials. I know you know are familiar with the ones to which I am referring; the ones that interrupt your favorite television shows right when you are on the edge of your seat with suspense. My favorites are the ones for depression where the sufferers are miraculously back in business after asking requesting a prescription from their doctor and are now happy and loving life. They rise up out of a dark and dreary bedroom to interact with friends, their spouse, and their children. The sun begins to shine, clouds disappear, birds sing, they are suddenly dressed in fashionable clothes, and …show more content…
In fundamental vernacular, the pharmaceutical companies saw a way to reach out to you, the public consumer, assist you in identifying your medicinal needs, and persuade you, right in your own living room, to contact your primary care provider for a prescription drug that could potentially right your world. Has being exposed to DTCA improved your quality of life? Have you found yourself at your doctor’s office requesting a prescription medication because you were influenced by an advertisement you saw on television? Similar to the older woman customer sitting next to Meg Ryan in a deli after she fakes an orgasm in the 1989 film, When Harry Met Sally, “I’ll have what she’s having.” The implication is that we are an enlightened society, educated, and responsible. We are willing and able to make our own choices. Shouldn’t we be proactive in our healthcare? Quoting from the article “Pushing Prescriptions Direct-To-Consumer Drug Advertising” by Sheri Graydon, “Consumers have a right to information about new medications.” However, as succinctly expressed by Sheri Graydon in the aforementioned article, “Does the thought of prescription pharmaceuticals being sold with the same tactics as perfume and beer give you
Have you ever seen a really strong guy uses a Band-Aid to care for a small wound? Maybe yes. What about a superhero? Maybe not. Band-Aid ad uses several techniques to sell a product that protects wounds. In the ad, a huge green muscular hand which belongs to the most powerful superhero, Hulk, is used to get people’s attention and to sell the product. We can see a Band-Aid is sticking to his index finger. This hand is so distinct that it makes viewers link the bandage to the Band-Aid box located in the lower right corner of the picture. The only words in this ad are “Flexible Fabric” on the product box. Using Hulk to sell the product shows viewers how flexible the product is. It can also create a sense of humor. The Band-Aid ad expresses that, if the most powerful superhero Hulk needs a bandage sometimes, then everyone needs a bandage sometimes. This message is presented through the techniques of visual arrangement, celebrity endorsement, and humor.
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.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing of pharmaceuticals has grown increasingly in the past decade. The American public views prescription drug advertising for a wide range of medical conditions, including high cholesterol, depression, allergies, and erectile dysfunction. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the content of these advertisements. Critics also have taken the position that the advertisements garner unearned trust from the public, are misleading, and promote unnecessary use of prescription drugs for common problems associated with aging. Proponents counter that DTC ads help eliminate stigmas associated with certain medical conditions, give patients an active role in their health care management, and encourages the doctor/patient relationship. There have been calls for bans on DTC pharmaceutical advertising, but the practice is protected under a business’s right to free speech. Regulation changes, particularly requiring the FDA to pre-approve marketing campaigns before they are released to the public, may be one way to appease opponents, while protecting the rights of pharmaceutical manufacturers to advertise to the average American consumer.
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...
DTC advertisements aim to persuade that their possibly less effective drugs work better than other drugs rather than to inform consumers of correct information about drugs. The reason that pharmaceutical companies abuse the power of DTC advertising is because the pharmaceutical industry does not have a strong ethical code for advertising; their sales are so obsessed with profits. To solve this problem, policy makers should prohibit indiscreet DTC advertisements on air and fund more informative services about new drugs so that patients could make clever
The United States of America accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, yet as a nation, we devour over 50% of the world’s pharmaceutical medication and around 80% of the world’s prescription narcotics (American Addict). The increasing demand for prescription medication in America has evoked a national health crisis in which the government and big business benefit at the expense of the American public.
These ads misinform patients, encourage over-medication, and pressure doctors and medical providers. The counter side states that prescription drug ads educate patients, encourage the correct usage of drugs, and cause patients to ask their doctors about possible treatments. Both sides have examples and evidence, but the cons of prescription drug ads are stronger. The pros explain how some lives can be improved. However, the cons focus on the dangerous effect these ads have on the viewers. Although these drugs are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, DTC prescription drug ads can be manipulated to have catastrophic effects on the
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.
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.
It has been said that addiction is the plague of the 21st century. In an age of unprecedented life expectancy and medical breakthroughs, people are dying from both disease and overdose that are self inflicted and the cure is currently out of reach. Implementing progressive ideas such as safe injection sites have been a battle, both for caring social workers and front line emergency workers looking to minimize the health risks associated with risk taking behaviors that inevitably occur with intravenous drug use. While the addicted population currently uses considerable government funding by way of shelter services as well as prison and jail time, safe injection sites are a necessary step in the battle against drug abuse as is a major prevention
Almost everybody on Long Island, and probably all around the world, has been prescribed a drug by a doctor before— whether it was to knock out a nasty virus, or relieve pain post injury or surgery. However, what many people don’t realize is that these drugs can have highly addictive qualities, and more and more people are becoming hooked, specifically teenagers. But when does harmlessly taking a prescription drug to alleviate pain take the turn into the downward spiral of abuse? The answer to that question would be when the user begins taking the drug for the “high” or good feelings brought along with it—certainly not what it was prescribed for (1). The amount of teens that abuse prescription medications has been rapidly increasing in recent
Kaphingst, K. A. (2004). A Content Analysis of Direct-to-ConsumerTelevision Prescription Drug Advertisements. Journal of Health Communication,Volume 9: , 515–528,.
Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the dangers of prescription drugs when not taken as prescribed by your physician or pharmacist.
Life is full of uncertainties. Risk lurks in every nook and corner of human life. In short, life is unpredictable. We need to be prepared for such circumstances. Leading a happy life, involves good planning and analysis for your personal health. Accidents do happen and you need to be prepared for such situations. In times of high health cost, you need to get covered for health risks.
For many years, people have suffered many devastations about addiction. It has become a common killer in the United States just like murder. Addiction has affected over 23 million people from the age 12 and older. These addictions are wide ranging, they can include alcohol, drugs, sex, video games, food, pornography, and gambling. People like to keep quite because they view this disease as morally wrong. Addicts sometimes shut out their family member because they are afraid of the reaction if anyone knew their problem. The Nation Institute of Drug Abuse states Addiction is as a chronic, relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences.Today in 2016 addiction is spreading across