Pharmaceutical TV ads prescribe profit, not health
I am sure we have all been in a similar situation, where we are sitting on the couch, watching a live game or movie, and an advertisement pops up, telling you to take this pill for mild allergies. Side effects may include: dizziness, vomiting, irregular heartbeat, mood swings, kidney failure, internal bleeding and sudden death.
Pharmaceutical commercials should be banned from TV in the United States because they mislead consumers, promote unnecessary medications and drive up healthcare costs. They have become normalized in the U.S., but they are only allowed in two countries around the world: the U.S.and New Zealand. Most nations consider these ads unethical because they blur the lines between health advice and commercial propaganda.
In an advertisement, a company may present the drug as if it solves all of your problems. According to the Harvard Gazette, however, only about 20 percent of drugs advertised on TV were rated as having high added clinical benefits and the remainder were found to have low or no added clinical benefits compared to other treatment options. For example, watching the actor’s problems disappear may suggest that a pill can cure depression, but the advertisement will not mention that effective treatment often requires therapy, lifestyle changes or alternative medications.
Pharmaceutical companies spend a lot of money on advertisements. According to the National Institutes of Health, companies spend about twice as much on marketing as they do on research and development of new drugs. As a result, companies are slowed down on improving products and raise drug prices to offset the amount of money spent on advertising. Instead of advertising directly to the consumer, they could rely on their product’s quality. If the product is actually better than a competitor’s, doctors will recommend it to patients who need it. These pharmaceutical advertisements prioritize profit over public well-being and should be banned.
Healthcare should serve patients, not corporate interests. The ban would ensure that healthcare decisions are made by medical professionals, not marketing executives.
