The Scoop – Take Lipitor, but we won?t say why

If TV advertising had any influence on me, I?d be asking my doctor about Lipitor right now.

Or I?d be seeing what a difference Claritin could make in my life. After all, that commercial with the blue sky and all those pretty clouds makes taking Claritin seem so appealing.

Or maybe Flomax is the drug for me. I?m not sure what Flomax is supposed to accomplish, but the commercial shows four guys fishing on a boat so maybe the drug will finally allow me to land that big bass.

I?ve always wondered why prescription drug companies spend millions of dollars advertising products they don?t even explain, so I did a little bit of research. It turns out I was wrong. Drug companies actually spend $4 billion a year on what?s called direct-to-consumer advertising.

Their hopes are that Americans will rush to their doctors and urge them to prescribe Flomax so they can once again enjoy life on a fishing boat.

My burning question is what do these drugs really do, and why would a company bother advertising only to not tell you about its product?

It turns out, these drug-makers are skirting a Food and Drug Administration requirement that forces companies to disclose benefits and risks alike. By not talking about the benefits of taking Flomax, the company isn?t forced to tell you about the dangerous side effects, which could take up the entire commercial depending on the drug.

If you bother to listen, the side effects can be rather amusing. I love the ad that says possible side effects include headache, abdominal pain, and in some rare cases death. Hmmm, death is what I?d call a rather serious side effect.

In the warning for Flomax, people are told to avoid situations where injury could result when they first begin taking Flomax. I guess by that disclaimer people who don?t take Flomax are encouraged to dart in front of cement mixers.

While these prescription drug commercials are mysterious and often humorous, they only serve to drive up prescription drug use. If it didn?t, prescription drug advertising would not have exploded from a $12 million business in 1989 to a $4.2 billion industry in 2005.

I?m to the point where I think these ads need to be yanked off the air. Only two countries, the United States and New Zealand, allow direct-to-consumer advertising.

That?s because a doctor is supposed to diagnose medical problems and suggest possible prescriptions. The patient isn?t supposed to see a catchy TV ad then encourage their doctor to prescribe Lamisil to put an end to foot fungus.

I say this will full knowledge that Tennessee leads the nation in prescription drug use per person. We?re even take more prescription drugs than West Virginia. And yes West Virginia is the place where they set their furniture on fire when the Mountaineers win a college football game.

The average Tennessean has 17.3 prescriptions filled a year. That?s ahead of West Virginia with 16 a year and the national average of 11.3 a year.

?It seems like everything out there is a miracle drug,? said Dr. Edward Langston, chairman-elect of the American Medical Association?s board of trustees. ?Patients have an unrealistic idea of what drugs can do and what side effects they might have.?

This is just a guess, but maybe patients have unrealistic ideas because of those commercials that emphasize fields of petunias, and not the product.

All this is giving me a headache. I?m sure if I take two Nexiums, I?ll feel better about something.

James Clark is editor of the Standard. He can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].