News Adverts Are Sick

Every once in a while I punish myself and decide to watch the evening news on one of the original networks of ABC, NBC or CBS. Tonight I decided for a double dose of pain and watched CBS at 6:00 and ABC at 6:30. The news is really becoming progressively sick these days -- not just the coverage, but the commercials. Just about every ad deals with something to do with medicine or health. Here’s a breakdown of commercials:

CBS

1st Commercial Break:

1. Levitra, prescription for “ED” (Erectile Dysfunction)
2. Restasis, prescription for dry eyes
3. Wyeth, hormone therapy for menopause (undoubtedly prescription)
4. Advil
5. One-a-Day Cholesterol Plus
6. Just For Men
7. Beneful (food for older dogs – even the pets need supplements!!)

2nd Commercial Break:

1. Merckhelps.com (Merck helps subsidize delivering prescription medicines – of course their own, with which they make money.)
2. Serenity “Discreet Activewear” (diapers for old people)
3. Clear Eyes
4. Vytorin, prescription for cholesterol

3rd Commercial Break:

1. Plavix, prescription for “ACS” (acute coronary syndrome)
2. York Air-Conditioning
3. OFF! Mosquito spray (“Protects you against West Nile Virus!”)
4. Crest Mouthwash (“Kills germs, but doesn’t taste like medicine”)
5. Clear Eyes

Then as the news signed off, it was brought to us by “Wal-Mart, whose pharmacy accepts all Medicaid prescriptions...”

Over at ABC, we had:

1st Commercial Break

1. Advil
2. Edward Jones (investing)
3. Gas-X
4. Just For Men
5. Lipitor, prescription for cholesterol

2nd Commercial Break:

1. Nexium, prescription for “Acid Reflux Disease”
2. Vesicare, prescription to help manage “bladder leakage”.
3. Caltrate, calcium supplement
4. Red Lobster

3rd Commercial Break:

1. Ambien CR, prescription for sleep
2. York Air Conditioning
3. OFF!
4. Serenity Discreet Activewear


OK, so an overwhelming percentage of these ads have to do with health, especially for the elderly. Yeah, sure the average viewer of the evening news is probably 70 plus, but even so, are all these adverts for prescriptions and medicines a healthy thing? Remember about 10 years ago when the law was first changed that allowed the drug companies to bypass doctors and advertise prescription drugs directly to potential customers? The first generation of such adverts weren’t allowed to tell you the condition the product counteracted in order not to artificially create markets. Thus drugs like Claritin promised “Clearer days and brighter nights” without telling you what the hell they were selling. But soon the injunction not to name the sickness fell by the wayside, and so we are now inundated with acronyms like "ED" and "ACS". The benefit of all this direct advertising, so the argument goes, is that it educates and empowers consumers to help themselves. But it’s quite clear that these drug companies aren’t interested in education and empowering. They’re just creating drugs and markets, nay even sicknesses, with fancy acronyms to sell products. It’s about time the FDA changed it’s name to FDAA to reflect its real mission – The Food and Drug Advertisers’ Administration.