Comunale 1
Emma Comunale
9/19/16
Tech Topics
Mrs. Capone
Should Prescription Drugs Be Advertised DTC? The US pharmaceutical industry spent $5.2 billion on advertising prescription drugs DTC (directly to consumers) in 2015. Prescription drugs advertised or marketed on TV or on billboards on the side of the road are extremely common. If you haven’t seen one, get out from under your rock because they are everywhere. The result of these commercials can trick normal people who aren’t the one who needs their product into thinking they have what the drug is actually made for. Some drug commercials don’t even tell what the product/medicine is for! DTC prescription commercials are full of misinformed information that leads patients to the wrong type of conclusion. Most DTC commercials spend the running time over exaggerating the benefits of the drug, than the much bigger negative side effects such as physical pain, depression, and constipation. 63% …show more content…
Since the FDA doesn’t approve the DTC drug commercials before they air on TV, around 43% of consumers believed that the drug had to be tested, and 100% approved by the FDA before it can be aired on TV. But, not all drugs have completed their long-term testing before advertising begins. An example of this is the DTC advertised, Vioxx. It was prescribed 1999 to 2004 for arthritis and pain relief, before it was pulled from the shelves for causing heart attacks, and strokes. Vioxx caused 4,540 deaths from January 1st, 1999 to June 30th 2005. Many other drugs DTC advertised were pulled off shelves because they did not test the long-term safety. Such of these drugs are Bextra, which helped arthritis, Quaalude, a sleeping aid, Cylert, which was for ADHD, Darvon, for pain relief, and Zelnorm, for irritable bowel syndrome. Between 1970, and 2014, almost 35 DTC advertised drugs were pulled from shelves, for mostly safety
Emma Comunale
9/19/16
Tech Topics
Mrs. Capone
Should Prescription Drugs Be Advertised DTC? The US pharmaceutical industry spent $5.2 billion on advertising prescription drugs DTC (directly to consumers) in 2015. Prescription drugs advertised or marketed on TV or on billboards on the side of the road are extremely common. If you haven’t seen one, get out from under your rock because they are everywhere. The result of these commercials can trick normal people who aren’t the one who needs their product into thinking they have what the drug is actually made for. Some drug commercials don’t even tell what the product/medicine is for! DTC prescription commercials are full of misinformed information that leads patients to the wrong type of conclusion. Most DTC commercials spend the running time over exaggerating the benefits of the drug, than the much bigger negative side effects such as physical pain, depression, and constipation. 63% …show more content…
Since the FDA doesn’t approve the DTC drug commercials before they air on TV, around 43% of consumers believed that the drug had to be tested, and 100% approved by the FDA before it can be aired on TV. But, not all drugs have completed their long-term testing before advertising begins. An example of this is the DTC advertised, Vioxx. It was prescribed 1999 to 2004 for arthritis and pain relief, before it was pulled from the shelves for causing heart attacks, and strokes. Vioxx caused 4,540 deaths from January 1st, 1999 to June 30th 2005. Many other drugs DTC advertised were pulled off shelves because they did not test the long-term safety. Such of these drugs are Bextra, which helped arthritis, Quaalude, a sleeping aid, Cylert, which was for ADHD, Darvon, for pain relief, and Zelnorm, for irritable bowel syndrome. Between 1970, and 2014, almost 35 DTC advertised drugs were pulled from shelves, for mostly safety