Pharmaceutical Commercial - Report Example

PHARMACEUTICAL COMMERCIAL In the modern world, pharmaceuticals are incredibly important. They keep people strong and healthy, and allow others to recover from terrible injuries or diseases. They also make our lives more convenient and easy, fixing problems that up until recently people simply accepted as an unfortunate by-product of lived life. Drugs in one shape or form have been around for thousands of years, but never have we seen so many, so widely available. How they are regulated and their safety ensured is a subject of increasingly public concern and interest and has necessitated the creation of large national institutions to do so. Also, as drug use expands, questions about the ethics of pharmaceuticals have been debated more and more in the public sphere and elsewhere. Some argue diseases are being made up and advertising is manipulative. Critics point to “Big Pharma” manipulating research in order to increase their profit margins. These are all very important and major contemporary issues that must be addressed when we look drug commercials and the controversy surrounding their increasing prevalence in our everyday lives. In particular, for this assignment I have chosen the Lipitor ad seen at this website http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNFuEcy5ekg&feature=related History is important as background to any commercial. The 19th century saw a large expansion in the sale and use of drugs. The only problem was many of these drugs were very harmful and easy to get. There were few instructions on how to use them. Cocaine for example was prescribed as a cure for any number of things. It was also present in Coca Cola. This was the situation for several years. However, a huge problem emerged in 1937 with the mass poisoning related to Elixir Sulfanilamide. There had up until that point been no regulatory control, but the anger that was prompted by the death of more than 100 people led to much stricter controls and creation of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Over the next few years, these regulations were expanded to require people to get certain drugs by prescription only and also that before new drugs could be sold they would have to pass clinical trials.1 This commercial is an example of how regulated the industry has become but yet how sneaky it can still be. In the past, drugs were never very expensive. Before the 1970s, most people were not concerned by them because they would only take a drug for a short amount of time. But as more drugs were prescribed for chronic, long-lasting illnesses, the costs became heavier and heavier for people to bear. Soon there was legislation introduced to require cheaper, generic drugs to be substituted for expensive designer ones. This also eventually led to Medicare coverage for drugs. The lower cost of drugs means that drug companies have more potential buyers so they advertise more widely and try to convince people that there is something wrong with them. The story of the growth and development of pharmaceuticals has largely been an American one. As of 2008, the United States is the world leader in medical research, especially in pharmaceutical development. American companies create most of the world’s most innovative drugs and the FDA stamp of approval is sought by drug makers worldwide because this organization is so respected. Most commercials, including this one, are American. Pharmaceuticals in the United States are regulated by an organization called the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is an agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services and as such it is responsible for protecting and promoting the nations public health. It regulated not just the clinical trials that decide whether or not a new drug is safe for consumption, but it also regulates the advertising drug companies use. This is one of the reasons, for example, when you see a drug commercial on TV and many happy people having a picnic or an older couple walking romantically along the beach there is also a voice that says, “Warning! [name of drug] may cause vomiting, loss of appetite, impotence, insomnia, dizziness, diarrhoea, etc.” Companies are legally required to list the potential side effects of their drugs. In this case, the side effects of Lipitor are detailed. The effect can often be a strange one on drug commercials in general. It really makes you think about the claims being made and what kind of life is really being suggested. It makes you think about whether the company behind the ad is really telling the truth. These days there is a lot of controversy over the political, medical, and cultural influence of pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical companies. Because this is now a big business, people are concerned that certain ethical standards may be being replaced by a nasty business sense. There is always something a little unethical about a commercial because you are really trying to sell something. The truth might get in the way. Doctors are often hired and paid to sit on the boards of various pharmaceutical companies thus providing an appearance of medical credibility to a company or product that may not independently possess it. Some critics have said that the effect of drug marketing to physicians makes physicians biased to prescribe the marketed drugs even when others might be cheaper or better for the patient. There have also been unfortunate accusations of over-medicalisation, and making up diseases that don’t actually exist. For example, restless leg syndrome—a.k.a. a case of the jimmy legs—has been considered by some to be a “new” disease that needs treatment. In this case, heart disease is a problem and Lipitor may be part of a solution, but it isnt the only one, as it suggests. In fact a drug has even been developed to treat this common condition which some say is just an effort to expand the market for medications. Some people also feel that anti-anxiety, anti-shyness drugs promoted by drug companies may also be going too far in the direction of coming up with a cure for every single up and down in the course of life. They argue that every problem can’t be solved and that if you take a pill for everything society will soon be full of zombies. The debate is about the market: are drug companies simply filling a need—or are they aggressively creating and manipulating the need? This is an open question. Pharmaceuticals have been around for millennia in one shape or another, and over all it can probably be argued that they have improved our lives dramatically. People currently live longer and healthier lives than they have ever done before and infant mortality is also very low, especially in West where pharmaceuticals are most widely available. These benefits largely accrue because of the system of regulation in place that helps to make sure these drugs are developed and used responsibly. But there may also be a cost to our extensive involvement in pharmaceuticals. Commercials such as this one may be creating an artificial market where people are scared into buying products or think they will die if they dont buy Lipitor. We may be treating problems that don’t really exist and we may be becoming too dependent on drug companies. Commercials can tell people about products they dont know about already, but they can also create fake need and manipulate people into buying things they dont need. When it comes to a persons health that may be a bridge too far. Read More