# Prescription Drug Advertising: Knock It Off Already!! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 14, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241 "2003-05-14T17:45:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SchlitzGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@SchlitzGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SchlitzGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/1 "2003-05-14T17:45:03Z")
Time to vent my spleen. I am so tired of all these stupid prescription drug commercials and advertisements that seem to show up EVERYWHERE! Watching the “NBC Nightly News” makes me feel like I accidentally subscribed to the Hypochondriacs Channel. Every other commercial, if it isn’t EVERY commercial, is for some damn drug that you’re supposed to “ask your doctor about…” Nexium is the worst - in half of their spots, they don’t even tell what the stupid “purple pill” is for! What do they expect, that we should be hypnotized by these commercials and go wandering like lemmings to our local clinics, moaning “Purple pill…must have purple pill…don’t know what purple pill is for but must have…”. Then you get the magazine ads that take up TWO PAGES - one to advertise the slop, the other to explain what the side effects are! If anyone’s wondering why the price of health care keeps skyrocketing, well, somebody’s gotta pay for this garbage! I believe in free enterprise, folks, but not to this extent. They should keep the advertising confined to ball point pens and doctor’s office clipboards like in the old days. If I’m gonna ask my doctor for ANYTHING, it’s gonna be generic! ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/2 "2003-05-14T17:46:46Z")
Sounds like someone needs some Paxil. It sure made that frowny egg happy. ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/3 "2003-05-14T17:53:14Z")
Yeah! [sub]Warning: Reading this post may cause drowsiness, dizzyness, lack of sleep, hypochondria, gassy discharge, oily discharge, deja vu, increased menstral flow, hair loss, skin rash, dispepsia, SARS, vampirism, veganism, dry mouth, sore throat, fever, disheveled hair, penis enlargement, penis shrinkage, slower elevators, memory loss, deja vu, deja vu, deja vu, deja vu, ulcers, night terrors, deja vu, fondness for cashews, heart attacks, death, staining of soul, weight loss, deja vu, fear of monkeys, asthma, and deja vu. Consult a doctor to see if reading this post is right for you![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/4 "2003-05-14T17:59:52Z")
Great, as if I didn’t have enough problems now my farking soul is stained. ---
**Author:** ![meow\_meow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@meow\_meow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/meow_meow)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/5 "2003-05-14T18:06:54Z")
Yes. How the hell did the human race ever survive without all these wonderful new advancements in pharmaceutical science? I’m throwing my TV out the window. (But wait, maybe this blue pill will help. Hmmm. All better now.) I am the wife of a recovering prescription drug addict, so this really is a serious issue for me. I am especially angry at these ads and the doctors who prescribe without caution. And damn! Tars Tarkus, that side effect idea was MINE. Damn my slow typing skills. ---
**Author:** ![DoperChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/6 "2003-05-14T18:23:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SchlitzGuy \* > **…in half of their spots, they don’t even tell what the stupid “purple pill” is for!..** If the ads say what the pills are supposed to treat, then they must also say what the potential side effects are. Considering how nasty some of the side effects can be, some companies choose not to state the treatments to avoid having to say them. I’m looking for a site for this, but I can’t remember where I first heard it. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/7 "2003-05-14T18:24:51Z")
I’ve worked for doctors and i can tell you most of them HATE this: a patient comes in and says, “I feel like X, what should we do?” she comes in and says “I need a prescription for Y because my TV says so.” If the self-diagnosis is wrong, which is of course often the case, the doctor has to START from a position of contradiction. Makes their job WAY harder. Many of them just write the damn prescription and don’t bother to argue; hence the jump in sales for advertized drugs. ---
**Author:** ![Ego\_Mk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Ego\_Mk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ego_Mk2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/8 "2003-05-14T18:32:34Z")
That bouncing lump commercial scares the SHIT out of me. ---
**Author:** ![DoperChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@DoperChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoperChic)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/9 "2003-05-14T18:35:09Z")
Got it. From [this](http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1998/198_ads.html) site… “…by stating the drug’s name but not what it was used for, the ads were exempt from a Food and Drug Administration regulation that generally requires prescription drug advertisements to disclose the risks of the medication as well as its benefits” ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/10 "2003-05-14T18:38:09Z")
I thought it was a rock. It was very sad when the rock lost its interest in butterflies. I was so happy when it regained it, and was able to hop happily around after butterflies. If it had been an egg, all that hopping would have ended badly. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/11 "2003-05-14T18:39:44Z")
Obligatory [Onion](http://www.theonion.com/onion3918/pfizer_launches.html) link. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/12 "2003-05-14T18:42:34Z")
Bouncy Kirby-wannabe is for Zoloft, I think–not Paxil. I’ve got an effing COFFEE MUG with him on it sitting here on my desk. Have you seen the stuff prescrip companies slap their logos on? I currently have, on my desk, a Zoloft mug, several Zoloft, Paxil and Seroquel pens, a Geodon stapler, and an effing Zomig paperclip dispenser. I shit you not. ---
**Author:** ![slice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@slice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slice)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/13 "2003-05-14T18:46:11Z")
I have no ideas what half the answers are on my history exam, but dammit if I don’t know that Nexium is from the makers of Prilosec. Thank God. I don’t remember what the specific medicine’s name was, but it is used to treat anxiety. As someone with a generalized anxiety disorder, I truly appreciated being asked by the Concerned People on TV if I worry a lot. Did I worry about work when I was at home? Did I worry about home when I was at work? The answer is yes, you craptards, now let me watch the Simpsons! **Ego\_Mk2** , I kind of like the bouncing lump. I knew someone who took the bouncing lump medicine though and it made her shake and cry, and she was not at all bouncy nor lumpy. ---
**Author:** ![Ego\_Mk2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/58956e/32.png) [@Ego\_Mk2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ego_Mk2)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/14 "2003-05-14T18:47:09Z")
**QueerGeekGirl** , I am so glad I don’t know what any of those things are. Geodon? Sounds like a Pokemon. Geodon, I choose you! Fix my gallstones! Ultrasonic bile breaker! \ ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/15 "2003-05-14T18:50:41Z")
::snorts with laughter thinking about a pyschotropic-themed Pokemon episode:: **Ego\_Mk2** , Geodon is a medication for schizophrenia. And no, I didn’t know either. I had to ask my wife, seeing as she’s the one who brings all this shit home. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/16 "2003-05-14T18:54:46Z")
**QueerGeekGirl** Is your chose field medicine, perhaps? I don’t recognize any of those brand names either. Ohhhhh, Ohhhhh about the OP. I hate all those commercials too. ---
**Author:** ![PhiloVance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e19adc/32.png) [@PhiloVance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhiloVance)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/17 "2003-05-14T18:57:40Z")
**QueerGeekGirl** And you have a wife??? I’m so 😕 !!! [sub] BTW previous post should have read ‘chosen field’. my bad. [/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/18 "2003-05-14T18:58:28Z")
**PhiloVance** , my chosen field is actually being a slob who lives off her wife. 😃 No, I’m not in medicine. My wife’s a therapist. I used to be a MHT, though, and I spent around eleven months training to be a nurse, so I can recognize medications a little bit. Mostly not, though. I usually just yell for the missus to explain it to me. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Liz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/liz/32/17737_2.png) [@Liz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liz)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/19 "2003-05-14T19:01:16Z")
**PhiloVance** , I guess my “wife” is legally called my “lesbian partner”, but that’s a bit of a mouthful. I usually just stick with “wife”, “old lady” or “missus”. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241/20 "2003-05-14T19:15:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by QueerGeekGirl \* > **…an effing Zomig paperclip dispenser…** As a migaine sufferer who recently broke his paperclip dispenser…can I have that? [sub]Caution: Side effects of Zoming include sleeplessness, delusions of grandeur, delusions of feeling better, the delusion that one can run through a brick wall without feeling pain, and the dreaded “rear admiral.”[/sub] [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/prescription-drug-advertising-knock-it-off-already/175241.md?page=2)