Why Advertise Prescription Drugs?

Darth Raptor · Post by **Darth Raptor** » 2004-04-14 10:39pm

These days, it's impossible not to notice the ubiquitous prescription medication ads. You know, the "Ask your doctor about <rediculous name>" commercials that give absolutely ZERO information about the drug and then rattle off a disclaimer about how almost no one can safely take it. This got me thinking: What the hell's the point? It's not like you can waltz into a pharmacy and select it, right? Won't any physician with an iota of integrity prescribe what's appropriate for what ails you? Furthermore, if you don't even know what it does how will you know wether to ask your doctor about it?

Idiot Fool: "Dr. Smith, what about Rejuvinoninon? Do you think that would help my chronic heartburn?"

Doctor: "That's for genital herpes, and I wouldn't prescribe it to a stray dog."

So what's the !@#$%^& point!? I'm sure this seemingly pointless advertising isn't helping the already astronomical drug costs.

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-04-14 10:47pm

Its a waste of time advertising it,and if a doctor do prescribe it i'd suspect that he has stock in the company.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2004-04-14 10:50pm

The idea is to get the patient to ask the doctor for the advertised drug, especially if there's a generic alternative. Same as any other advertising. Doctors are more likely to write a 'scrip because a patient asks for it than you might think.

EDIT: If the patient has the disease the drug is for, of course. Most doctors WON'T write you a prescription for, say, acid reflux if you have chronic headache.

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2004-04-15 12:24am

Drug reps have been pimping their company's stuff to doctors and pharmacists for years. With the advertisements the consumers are also getting exposure to new stuff.

I don't mind the advertisements for "antacids", antihistamines, certain painkillers, but when they advertise stuff to counter depression, that's a little weird. Not that there aren't a lot of people that those drugs could help but by advertising it sort of seems to me that they might be taking advantage of someone who is in a depresssed state.

We also shouldn't forget that viagra and levitra are both prescription meds and they get plenty of air time. I'm not sure viagra needs it anymore but anything new that competes with it probably will unless they only want to be an alternative for people viagra doesn't work for.

Joe · Post by **Joe** » 2004-04-15 12:36am

Viagra isn't really advertised anymore, at least not on TV, it's already penetrated its target markets.

Post by **Mr Bean** » 2004-04-15 12:57am

Simple, because most of those perscription drugs are the expensive, hundred doller a month kind that you need for the rest of your life(Anything that says "releives symtoms is likely to do just that.. as long as you take it your good)

Its like Tobacco every single customer they pick up is theirs for life, but even moreso

Spanky The Dolphin · Post by **Spanky The Dolphin** » 2004-04-15 01:41am

One reason is that doctors don't always follow the most recent or new drugs that come out immediately.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-04-15 07:18am

Joe wrote:Viagra isn't really advertised anymore, at least not on TV, it's already penetrated its target markets.

back on topic, these commercials infuriate me because they do nothing more than inflate drug prices. What the fuck is Crestor, and why the hell is Patrick Stewart rhyming like Dr. Seuss?

Montcalm · Post by **Montcalm** » 2004-04-15 07:33am

Joe wrote:Viagra isn't really advertised anymore, at least not on TV, it's already penetrated its target markets.

That pill is advertised here,first there was lots of people happy in these ads,jumping while they were playing "We are the champion" now its guys singing "I did it my way"

Tsyroc · Post by **Tsyroc** » 2004-04-15 11:00am

I liked the levitra ad that had the guy putting the football through a tire swing. Both he and his wife were happy he could still put it through the hole.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-04-15 01:45pm

Because, everyone above brought up valid points:

a) Get the patient to bug the doctor to look into the drug.
b) A doctor CANNOT know about every new fangled thing out there, so as stated above.. get the patient to bring in interesting little ads and info.
c) After legislation was passed where pharm reps cannot give doctors cool gifts anymore to use their drugs, the "gifts" now being extremely limited and regulated usually to good takeout food for the office, the drug companies want the patients to hound the doctor.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2004-04-15 02:01pm

Trytostaydead wrote:Because, everyone above brought up valid points:

a) Get the patient to bug the doctor to look into the drug.
b) A doctor CANNOT know about every new fangled thing out there, so as stated above.. get the patient to bring in interesting little ads and info.
c) After legislation was passed where pharm reps cannot give doctors cool gifts anymore to use their drugs, the "gifts" now being extremely limited and regulated usually to good takeout food for the office, the drug companies want the patients to hound the doctor.

my mother worked in a doctor's office and the pharm reps would come in all the time. Every time they did my mother would come home with enough Cantonese take-out to feed the People's Liberation Army.

Zoink · Post by **Zoink** » 2004-04-15 02:32pm

A doctor will usually have a prefered medication/treatement for a specific condition. If you "ask your doctor" for a specific treatement, the drug company might get a sale they might normally have missed.

They also send free samples of drugs to doctors hoping the doctor will prescribe it.

Mayabird · Post by **Mayabird** » 2004-04-15 02:49pm

Also drug ads are great for milking money out of hypochondriacs.

I mean honestly. I've seen drug ads that list symptoms but don't really directly state what exactly they're supposed to treat. And as for advertising drugs for depression, most people don't really know what clinical depression really is. If they get the blues and watch TV ads telling them that apparently being a little sad is a disease that must be treated for them to feel better, then they'll be much more likely to convince themselves that they need to get medicated, and then they're paying hundreds a month for their pills for years. How many millions of Americans are taking anti-depressants right now? Really, how many of them are truly clinically depressed and require the medication to be able to function? Not nearly as many as are swallowing Prozac and such every day.

Trytostaydead · Post by **Trytostaydead** » 2004-04-15 02:59pm

Clinical depression is loosely defined as having symptoms of depression for more than two weeks. Depression though is very much a gradient, from the normal blues to extremely severe, and the test for it IS pretty much self-evaluated (Beck's Depression Inventory).