Prescription Drugs Advertised on TV?

Prescription Drugs Advertised on TV?

Either it doesn’t work very well or there’s a cheap alternative

Let’s think about the motivation of drug manufacturers who advertise new drugs to the consumer on television – the evening news seems to be particularly popular for this – instead of to doctors.

We are not talking about over-the-counter medicines here that the consumer can choose themselves, but drugs that require a doctor’s prescription.

If your great new prescription drug solves a real medical problem, wouldn’t telling doctors about it seem the way to go? After all it is doctors and only doctors who can prescribe it. If the intent is to relieve the suffering of consumers and respect the role of doctors then an article in a medical journal and a visit by the drug rep to the clinic would seem more than adequate.

So why would a drug company spend millions to advertise these new drugs to consumers, especially when they are required by law to talk about side-effects and contra-indicators? [surprising how many of these new ‘makes you wonder’ drugs actually cause, as a side effect, what they are supposed to cure - but that’s another story]

What is worth the huge expense of advertising these drugs on the evening news, not to mention the indelicacy of discussing side effects like ‘oily discharge’ with consumers innocently watching television at the supper hour?

The answer can only be to create such a demand for the drug that consumers start asking their doctors for it by name. Hectoring people to diagnose themselves and prescribe their own medication can only lead to irritated doctors who quite reasonably feel that their authority has been subverted. Why is this strategy worth both the vast sums of money and the likely irritation of doctors, presumably valued allies of the drug companies?

The answer is likely one, or both, of two things. One is that the drug doesn’t work very well and it’s a toss-up whether the doctor feels it’s worth prescribing. The other is that there is a cheaper generic drug that does the same job, or better, for less money.

In both these cases the drug manufacturer stands to gain profits by persuading consumers to ask for these marginally effective or ridiculously expensive drugs by name.

As a result of this analysis, it becomes clear that whenever we see a new drug with a sexy name being advertised on the evening news, it is either not very good, or it is an expensive, side-effect riddled replacement for something cheap and cheerful.

Tags: 1 - Commentary, prescription drug ads
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