Appeal to stop irresponsible AIDS Drug Ads.

[Guest guest]

Stop Irresponsible

AIDS Drug Ads

Dear AHF Community Advocate,

Welcome to AIDS Healthcare Foundation's expanded online network of community

advocates, committed to fighting for HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment for all.

It is our hope to build an online community of grassroots advocates like

yourself and, through action on issues affecting those living with HIV/AIDS,

continue to effect change at the local, state, and federal levels, as well as

globally. You can make a difference today by taking action on the important

issue of Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising of HIV/AIDS medications. The

reckless and irresponsible practice of advertising prescription drugs directly

to consumers through ads on television, on the radio, in newspapers and

magazines has become standard practice for this multi-billion dollar industry.

To the left see just one example of DTC Advertising that minimizes the

realities of living with HIV.

Please click on the " Take Action " button to send a letter to your Congress

Member urging him/her to press for legislation to end irresponsible

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising of prescription HIV/AIDS medications.

 

 

 

 

 

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):

Your Congressperson

Your Senators

 

Below is the sample letter:

Stop Irresponsible HIV/AIDS Drug Ads

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

As a concerned consumer, I remain troubled by skyrocketing drug costs and

health care expenses, particularly for those people living with HIV/AIDS. I

recognize the important role the drug industry plays in the fight against AIDS;

however, I am alarmed at the standard industry practices of Direct-to-Consumer

(DTC) marketing of prescription drugs, particularly of life-saving AIDS drug

therapies. I urge you to press for legislation to end irresponsible

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising of prescription HIV/AIDS medications.

 

The pharmaceutical industry reaps profits well beyond those of other industries.

The industry justifies these profits by invoking costly research and development

of new drugs, but analyses have shown that on average drug companies spend twice

as much on marketing, advertising and administration, as they do on research and

development. Add this to a drug pipeline with no real innovation, dominated

instead with an influx of " me too " drugs and the p

Sincerely,

 

[Your Name]

 

 

Take Action! Instructions:

Click here to take action on this issue or choose the " Reply to Sender " option

on your email program. You MUST reply with " Stop Irrresponsible AIDS Drug Ads "

in the subject.

 

Tell-A-Friend:

There is strength in numbers! Please invite your friends to become AHF Community

Advocates by clicking on the link below:

Tell-a-Friend!

 

What's At Stake:

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising of HIV/AIDS medications is dangerous

because it:

 

Interferes with the doctor-patient relationship

Downplays the risk and severity of side effects

Minimizes and romanticizes the realities of living with HIV and AIDS,

undercutting prevention messages

Contributes to skyrocketing prescription drug prices

Places profit above public health

 

Facts about the drug industry and Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising:

 

Drug companies spend twice as much on marketing, advertising and

administration, as they do on research and development.

 

The pharmaceutical industry reaps enormous profits ¾six times that of other

Fortune 500 companies

 

The drug industry spends more than $4 billion a year advertising brand-name

prescription drugs to consumers. For every dollar that drug companies spend on

consumer advertising, they earn an estimated $4.20 in sales. This means that in

2004, the drug industry's consumer ad campaigns earned them up to $16.8 billion

in extra profits from expensive, brand-name drugs.

 

 

Campaign Expiration Date:

December 31, 2006

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Healthcare Foundation.

 

 

" Our ideal is not the spirituality that withdraws from life but the conquest

of life by the power of the spirit. " - Aurobindo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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