What You Need

High cholesterol? Aches? Pains? Arthritis? Insomnia?

You can find what you need by watching the adverts on television. Whatever did we do before 1998, when the FDA allowed drug companies to market their wares direct to the consumer? Surely we all were suffering. How could we have educated our physicians, without knowing what drugs we wanted?

About $5 billion is wasted on pushing drugs to the consumer, and Congress is beginning to realize that drug manufacturers are promoting their products rather quickly after development. Good for the company, of course, because people see the commercials on the air and in print, and then trundle off to the overworked Doc in the Box at the clinic. I saw this, they might say, and it's just what I need for my high blood pressure/cholesterol/sleep apnea, et. al. Yes, I saw that as well, says Doc, and here's a prescription. Let me know if you develop any serious side effects because this drug hasn't been out long enough for us to see if it's harmful. Say, for example, a heart attack after taking Vioxx for a few months. Well, your next of kin would be doing the notification, actually.

The drug companies don't like the idea that they might have to wait a year or two before springing their newest concoctions on an unsuspecting public. They'll argue First Amendment rights, free speech, and odds are, they'll win any such argument. Watchdog groups believe that the FDA should have the right to restrict drug advertising, suggesting that recent disasters such as Vioxx serve as excellent examples of why such muzzling is needed. Free speech, yes, but one cannot yell 'Fire' in a crowded hall.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) wants drug companies to be able to advertise freely, so that the consumer has access to "valuable information". Legitimate point, provided that the consumer is an educated health professional who understands the chemistry involved. A short thirty second promo for Lipitor is not going to educate anybody about the body's need for cholesterol, where it is found, what its function is, etc. A print ad will not educated anybody about the need for exercise and weight control as regards cholesterol, nor will it educate anybody about the way in which the human body processes foods and produces cholesterol. All the adverts do is educate people about an available product which is made to sound like the solution to the world's ills.

The FDA's request to allow a cooling-off period between product release and first public advertising may fall on deaf ears. It's useless to talk to the politicians who are taking Lipitor. Leads to hearing loss, among other side effects. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) is all in favor of restraint when it comes to prescription medicine promotion....he'll have to talk louder.