We all want to be healthy and to live a pain free, stress free, injury free life. Unfortunately, even if we knew exactly how to achieve this and had the discipline to diet, rest and exercise as our doctors recommend, few of us are lucky enough make it through life without pain, stress or injuries.
Big Pharma tells us if we are injured or impaired that we should ask our doctor about their medication and how it can help us regain our health after an injury or impairment. What they have learned is that running direct to consumer advertising increases sales.
Big pharma is big business. They know what makes us tick. Pharmaceutical companies have done their research. Years ago, the government made it illegal for pharmaceutical companies to treat doctors to lavish educational seminars in the islands and strictly regulate what a drug rep can spend on meals and entertainment. So, they reduced their sales forces across the country and redirected their sales budget to direct to consumer ads on radio, television and the Internet. Now they inundate us with ads that tell us what medications we should ask our doctors about to make our lives better.
A well informed patient is generally welcomed by most physicians, but a great deal of physician and staff time is wasted addressing patients’ questions about inappropriate medications. Worse, some physicians are so frustrated or overwhelmed and go ahead and simply prescribe medications patients request. It’s easy to understand why physicians are frustrated and why patients are misinformed.
Big Pharma and their over the counter brands (OTC) have celebrity spokesmen, design attractive packaging, advertise online and on television, negotiate with retailers for the best shelf space in the stores we shop in that gives them the best chance of making a sale. After decades of refining their approach, they know what works.
The time of day and the financial and age demographic of the television program’s audience determines which time slots they buy. At the beginning of the ad, they tell us of the miraculous benefits their drugs will offer patients with this or that disease. However, about halfway through, they rush through a litany of all of the contraindications and potential risks that are associated with their miracle drug. It’s never good news. And, if not for the laws that require these disclosures, we all know the companies would not reveal these risks.
Over the past several years, news reports and internal company emails have shown that Perdue Pharma is an example of a pharmaceutical company that failed to disclose the addiction risks associated with their multi-billion dollar pain medication OxyContin. They are not alone.
What makes the big pharma situation worse is that there are both known and unknown “drug-drug”, “drug-gene”, “drug-food” interactions. Most of these have not been studied. The FDA approves food and medications after exhaustive review, but cannot possibly verify that these medications are safe or effective for everyone in every situation.
Our genetic profile, lifestyle, diet, medication, treatment choices, accidents and even luck all play a part in whether we come close to achieving our goal to live the healthiest, happiest, longest life possible. As patients, we cannot be passive. We all must take responsibility for our own health.
Don’t buy into the “tried and failed” big pharma recommendation that all we need to do is ask our doctor. Most physicians and other medical practitioners are simply unprepared to answer questions that no one currently has the answer to. There are simply too many new products, treatments and tests available for any physician or company to have all the answers.
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