Aggressive Drug Marketing is Blamed For Inappropriate Use of Painkillers

[Guest guest]

http://www.mercola.com/2005/mar/30/drug_marketing.htm

 

Aggressive Drug Marketing is Blamed For Inappropriate Use of Painkillers

 

Family Watching TV

 

Both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and legislators in four

states have taken action to increase the policing of consumer drug

ads. Advertising of the COX-2 painkillers Celebrex and Bextra are in

direct fire of facing stricter advertising policies after FDA advisers

recommended limiting or altogether banning consumer advertising of

these drugs.

 

If Merck decides to reintroduce Vioxx to market shelves after its

dangerous cardiovascular side effects were disclosed, they too could

be placed under similar advertising restrictions.

 

Researchers believe the outcome of these advertising changes would

lead consumers to investigate other resources such as doctors, Web

sites and 1-800 numbers for education on specific products and any

associated risks.

 

Marketing experts believe that the new approach of

marketing--educating the consumer about their health condition--will

increase the number of consumers seeking treatment and thus create an

expanding market for drug makers.

 

A New Spin on Drug Advertising

 

Recent campaigns reveal signs of future advertising trends:

 

*

 

A blood-pressure campaign by Novartis referred to as Take Action

for Healthy BP began with TV and print ads and is now solely promoted

through a Web site. The purpose of the Web site is to help the

consumer maintain their blood pressure goals through use of

educational tools such as heart-healthy recipes, exercise tips and a

blood pressure diary.

*

 

A migraine prevention campaign by Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceuticals

also refers consumers to their Web site to discover how to have fewer

migraines.

 

Marketing drugs over the Internet is an increasing trend and provides

an easy outlet for drug marketers to connect directly to consumers

interested in their product. The rise in Internet drug marketing is

evident in last year's numbers, which showed that it made up $5

million of the industry's $4.1 billion in consumer drug advertising.

 

USA Today March 16, 2005

 

Dr. Mercola's Comment:

 

Remember you don't have to rely on drugs for treating inflammation,

you can simply manipulate the fats in your diet to achieve similar

benefits. Please read the other article in this issue for specific

details on how to do that.

 

Earlier this year I ran an article on the crackdown by the FDA on the

outrageously false claims. In addition to Vioxx, Bextra and Celebrex

were taken by millions of patients worldwide lured by the ads flooding

television sets and magazine pages. Manufacturers of these drugs

perceived their marketing campaign as a blockbuster success.

 

Fortunately some expert conventional physicians truly get it. Dr. Eric

Topol is one such crusader. He is the chairman of cardiovascular

medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and wrote the following:

 

" The heart attack risks of arthritis painkillers Vioxx, Bextra and

Celebrex have exposed a regulatory 'house of cards' at the Food and

Drug Administration, " Dr. Topol has been an outspoken critic of the

drug companies in the Vioxx catastrophe.

 

Dr. Topol continues to state:

 

" These drugs were mass-marketed from the moment they were

commercially available in the new world of direct-to-consumer

advertising, with unrealistic expectations about pain relief, marked

gastrointestinal protection and safety. One has to question the wisdom

of allowing direct-to-consumer advertising for lifestyle medications

that have no capability of preserving life or preventing major events

such as heart attack or stroke. "

 

Folks, I think it is high time the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)

reevaluates their policy of allowing drugs to be advertised on TV.

However, since pharmaceutical companies have spent more money lobbying

Congress than other organization, we may never see the FTC reverse its

policy.

 

Related Articles:

 

Drug Companies Spend Two Billion to Advertise Directly to Consumers

 

Alternative Vs. Conventional: Why Don't Doctors Get It

 

Consumer Reports Warning: Beware of Drug Ads

 

Should Drugs be Advertised on Television?