Marketing disease, are you falling for it?

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NTN: Marketing disease, are you falling for it?

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 09:45:19 -0700

 

NewsTarget Insider Alert (www.NewsTarget.com)

HEALTH WARNINGS / CRITICISM

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Have you ever taken the time to count the drug ads in magazines like

Prevention? You'll find that there are an astounding number, but the

real question is, what are drug ads doing in these magazines at all?

Today on NewsTarget, Alexis Black explores the effect of marketing and

advertising on your health, and she explains why most consumers are

immensely confused about drugs and disease.

 

Read the full story at http://www.newstarget.com/019323.html

 

 

Conflicting media messages: How ads for pharmaceuticals and dangerous

foods have infiltrated health publications

Posted Tuesday, March 21, 2006 by Alexis Black

 

 

A February 2006 issue of Prevention magazine features a young, fit,

happy looking couple on its cover, surrounded by headlines like, " How

to be (and stay) happy " and " 18 best foods to fight disease. " Taken at

face value, the approximately 4.5 by 6.5-inch, full color booklet

appears to be a publication dedicated to exactly what its title

implies: " Preventing " disease and health problems. It's when you crack

open the cover that the magazine begins to contradict itself.

 

Sure, there is some valuable content on the 216 pages that follow --

such as an article on using peppermint as a natural way to ease

irritable bowel syndrome and a Q & A with Dr. Andrew Weil about

preventing osteoporosis naturally -- but all this is interspersed with

materials that have little to do with a truly healthy lifestyle,

namely a lot of advertisements for prescription drugs.

 

Of course, this is how prescription drugs have come to be viewed in

many Americans' minds -- as part of a healthy lifestyle. People think

if they are treating their health ailments with drugs, they are taking

responsibility for their health, when, in fact, the opposite is

usually true. In reality, they are only masking the symptoms of

whatever health problems they are experiencing, while neglecting to

fix the real problem, which is usually related to diet or lifestyle.

 

But most people don't see this. They don't think of prescription drugs

as a sign of health weakness, but rather as a means of taking care of

themselves. For that reason, it probably comes as no surprise to find

a whopping 33 pages of ads for pharmaceuticals and over-the-counter

drugs in something called Prevention magazine. For those who know

better, or who take the time to think about it, there is great irony

in this.

 

Prescription drugs have no ability whatsoever to prevent disease; they

are given to patients who already have the symptoms of disease and are

simply looking to cover them up. So what are advertisements for drugs

like Plavix, Nexium, Crestor and Vitorin -- accompanied by several

pages of fine print -- doing in a magazine like this? It probably has

a lot to do with how ubiquitous prescription drug ads have become in

all avenues of the popular press these days.

 

 

It's true that, in modern medicine, the prevention of disease has

taken a back seat to the treatment of disease, as conventional medical

doctors focus more and more on treating the symptoms of illness rather

than determining its root cause. This is reflected in the popular

media by the huge numbers of direct-to-consumer drug ads aimed at

convincing patients themselves to ask their doctors about this drug or

that drug.

 

With the big bucks in the pharmaceutical advertising business, and the

dependence of most media outlets on advertisers to keep them

financially afloat, it's no wonder we see these ads almost everywhere.

But Prevention magazine?

 

Clearly, there is something wrong with this picture. It's not just

drugs that stand out as being unusual here. Prevention magazine

contains ads for instant rice, white bread, condensed soup, cow's milk

and sugary granola bars, all of which contain unhealthy ingredients

and arguably contribute to chronic disease. In most cases, these are

products labeled with nutritious-sounding claims like " heart healthy "

or " all natural, " making them appear appropriate for a magazine that

is supposed to be about disease prevention. However, more often than

not, these are just buzzwords designed to appeal to a mildly health

conscious consumer. A quick glance at the product's actual

ingredients, in most cases, shows they are not all they are cracked up

to be.

 

While there are some advertisements in Prevention magazine for truly

healthy foods -- like California almonds, for example -- they are few

and far between. That's because most of the healthiest foods

available, like fruits, vegetables and other natural foods, are never

the ones that get a lot of attention. Heavily advertised foods are

usually processed, sugary, generally unhealthy foods manufactured by

extraordinarily wealthy companies.

 

 

What kind of mixed messages are we sending in this world when we

present a publication called Prevention magazine filled with ads

promoting prescription drugs and over-the-counter drugs for the

treatment of chronic diseases and other health woes? It is no wonder

so many Americans are devastatingly confused about their health when

they are facing these kinds of contradictions every day.

 

Pharmaceutical companies and junk food manufacturers have become

overwhelmingly powerful forces in our modern world -- too powerful.

They have even infiltrated Prevention magazine, which, taken without

the ads, might actually be a valuable resource for individuals seeking

health advice.

 

So, what can you do when faced with these sorts of contradictions?

Most importantly, you must educate yourself and learn not to take

things at face value. Just because something says it is " heart

healthy " doesn't necessarily mean it is good for you, and just because

something is called Prevention magazine doesn't necessarily mean it

can be trusted as a guide to preventing diseases. Be wise. Think

independently. Recognize the difference between disease prevention and

disease treatment, and take your health into your own hands

 

 

 

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