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New Muckraker: "Chick Flick Road Kill" author takes on Big Pharma
This entry was posted on 6/30/2007 9:25 AM and is filed under media,Healthcare.
In “How Big Pharma Learned to Seduce You” forAlternet.org, I think we’ve found a funny and savvy new muckraker in the person of Alicia Rebensdorf. www.alternet.org/story/54522
Is there one bill that the Senate has passed that doesn’t have a catch or a wink and a nod to huge corporations? Alicia Rebensdorf takes on the recent Senate Bill sponsored by Kennedy and Enz that passed 93 to1 which supposedly would tighten regulations on Big Pharma’s use of direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads.
But does it? And how do we get these ads that used to be illegal anyway? Alicia says it started out about 10 years ago when slowly ads began to appear for something called “Claritin”. “Never fear, Claritin is here.” But then that drug was joined by more.
to restless legs to toe fungus. But not until people started dying from Vioxx did all the warnings by consumer groups and doctors finally get some attention. Bill Frist actually pushed for a two year moratorium on ads, but Big Pharma convinced the Senate that they promised to do a better job at enforcing themselves. They would clean up their act.
So what did they do? They didn’t change their ways, they changed their marketing approach.
Is there one bill that the Senate has passed that doesn’t have a catch or a wink and a nod to huge corporations? Alicia Rebensdorf takes on the recent Senate Bill sponsored by Kennedy and Enz that passed 93 to1 which supposedly would tighten regulations on Big Pharma’s use of direct-to-consumer (DTC) ads.
But does it? And how do we get these ads that used to be illegal anyway? Alicia says it started out about 10 years ago when slowly ads began to appear for something called “Claritin”. “Never fear, Claritin is here.” But then that drug was joined by more.
"Our airwaves slowly filled with more commercials of cloudless skies and the people who enjoyed them -- happy people who swung on rope tires and performed slow motion somersaults. Over those first early years, the active people's afflictions gradually multiplied. They suffered hair loss and got herpes. The guy couldn't always perform up to par."Gradually Americans discovered that they had a lot of other problems from sleepless
So what did they do? They didn’t change their ways, they changed their marketing approach.
"One of the more effective methods the drug industry developed was animation, and soon it was everywhere. Bees started selling allergy medicine, water balloons suffered bladder control and balls couldn't bounce because of their depression. When those active people did sleep, they were aided by glowing butterflies and talking beavers. The human body, usually played by actors or represented by artery diagrams, also became more imaginative: a fun house of germs and a play yard of leaking pipes."This approach worked so much better than the real people.
"Stylistic graphics tend to be more memorable than the acted-out ads, and consumers, perhaps jaded by all those perfect people, are often just more responsive to animated ads. Also, considering the anatomy involved, cartoon mucus and monster toe fungus can be a cute way to straddle the ick factor. They're currently making a sitcom out of the Geico cavemen. It would not be much of a reach if 'Meet the Mucinex's' were next."Read the whole article. She investigates where these ads are placed and they seem to often be associated with hospital and medical shows. Go figure.
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7/1/2007 11:59 AM
Ann Batty wrote:
I agree with so much. . .but please, please, please do a little research before lumping restless legs syndrome in there. In this case, the doctors and medical community were negligent. Yes, negligent. While big pharma saw an opportunity, in some ways they have done a great service by making doctors aware of this condition.
RLS has been around for hundreds of years. It was named in the 1940's. Those of us with it aren't newly created because of drug ads. The opposite is true - those whose doctors told them they were crazy are finally getting both validation and treatment. We've always had it.
In over 50% of the cases, so did our mothers, fathers, grandmothers, aunts, etc. It's highly hereditary; so far 3 different genes have been found. It's also obvious - a few years ago, researchers compared 8 brains of people who had RLS to brains of people without it. They found significant differences. The RLS brains cannot process iron correctly. This leads to the cells behaving incorrectly.
They don't know how, but this leads to the body experiencing weird sensations in the body. To me, the feeling is akin to putting your tongue on a battery. But, I have no control and can't remove my nerves from my internal battery. It's annoying at best. When it's gone on for hours at a time, night after night, you'd do just about anything to make it stop. It's a valid disorder that when experiences at its worst can wreak havoc: broken marriage, being fired from your job, wishes of suicide to escape from constant torture, etc.
Yes, the ads have a negative side. No, not all people who think they have RLS do. No, not all people with RLS need drugs as most of them do not have a severe form. But, they do need doctors who recognize a valid condition without telling them they are crazy or treating them for something else (missing it completely).
Now these patients are finally getting the recognition, but because so many docs only know what they are told by drug reps, these doctors don't know that the best treatment may not be any drugs. They don't know that ferritin levels must be tested. They don't know that these drugs can create a serious condition called augmentation, and they certainly can't recognize it when it happens.
Hold the medical community responsible for this one...not big pharma.
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7/1/2007 1:05 PM
Montana Maven wrote:
Thanks so much for responding to this essay. That's the beauty of the blogosphere. I can find something interesting and then hear from people with real experience into what the essay is addressing. Having a nephew with a chronic disease which inhibited his ability to process protein, I experienced the frustration, exhaustion and bravery of my sister and her son with the medical profession and Big Pharma. My other sister worked for Big Pharma. Both told me that cures are not being worked on as much as they should and that a huge proportion of Big Pharma's budget goes to marketing and advertising.
It is this that I object to. But thanks for the info on RLS. I've crossed that part out of the essay for those who read it.
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7/1/2007 1:05 PM
Montana Maven wrote:
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7/4/2007 9:24 AM
Ann Batty wrote:
I appreciate your reasoned and thoughtful response. I wish all bloggers were willing and able to listen to another's perspective and adjust their own as appropriate
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