Enough already with the drug ads.

AuthorRundles, Jeff
PositionRUNDLES WRAP UP

AT ITS INTERIM MEETING IN NOVEMBER, THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, THE MOST INFLUENTIAL GROUP REPRESENTING the country's physicians, voted to call for a ban on the direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription medications.

Hallelujah!

The AMA primarily cited the increased drug costs in calling for the ban, but you can bet that doctors aren't very happy with patients bombarding them with questions about the medications they see advertised either. Every one of those smarmy ads says: "Ask your doctor if Hyperbolea is right for you," so each visit entails the doctor explaining why it isn't.

Ah, but the pharmaceutical industry spent upward of $4.5 billion advertising its prescription products last year, up more than 30 percent in annual spending over the previous two years. So even though I have never met anyone who loves the relentless drug ads flooding the television airwaves, it must be working. Some people apparently put more faith in the ads than their doctors.

If you just popped into the United States and watched television for an hour, you'd think the entire country suffers from diabetes, erectile dysfunction, COPD, depression, painful intercourse, BPH, afib, high cholesterol, blood clots, allergies--and, let's be honest, hypochondria. The ads make you think, "Do I have toenail fungus?" even if you passed your latest physical with flying colors.

It all reminds me of the marvelous 1980 novel by my favorite writer, Calvin Trillin, called "Floater." The main character is a reporter for a national news magazine who "floats" from beat to beat when the regular reporter is otherwise engaged; he spends an inordinate amount of time on the medical desk because the main beat reporter is out sick with the latest disease he covered.

There are many reasons why restricted prescription drugs should not be advertised direct-to-the-consumer. The first thing that comes to mind is that the regular consumer isn't qualified to make medical judgments. Physicians already know about these drugs, and they are the only people qualified (and authorized) to dispense them, or recommend alternatives. The AMA, however, was smart in its banning vote to emphasize that DTC advertising unnecessarily inflates drug costs because, unfortunately, affordability is certainly something that regular consumers are all too qualified to understand, especially as it relates to health care and prescription medications.

Part of the surge in drug advertising is that many...

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