Posted by zonked on June 15, 2011, at 12:33:44
In reply to Re: Direct-to-consumer advertising in the US, posted by jono_in_adelaide on June 15, 2011, at 1:24:30
> can people self diagnose with depression, >bipolar, high cholesterol and all the other ills the drug makers peddle?
Seriously - as an American accustomed to DTC advertising I was nevertheless shocked when antipsychotics (first Abilify, then Seroquel XR) advertised on TV.
People with normal variations of mood then might go to their GP *convinced* that they're bipolar, and ask for these drugs. I wonder how many people who truly need these drugs got treatment because of the ads, vs. people with subclinical mood variation got these drugs and went on to develop akathisia or TD.
While I was somewhat ambivalent when I started seeing antidepressant commercials on TV (2001-ish with Zoloft?) I am more concerned with mass-marketing of antipsychotics.
The other side of the coin is that, also, some people who genuinely are bipolar may realize they've been suffering unnecessarily all along and seek treatment. Advertising is a poor form of health education, though.
When it comes down to it, I really would like to see them banned.
> I would be most reluctant to see DTC advertising introduced into Australia for prescripton drugs - the adverts for OTC drugs annoy me enough!
I don't blame you. BTW, have you *seen* any of these ads? (They're on YouTube if you're curious.) I was disturbed enough as an American!
-z
poster:zonked
thread:988158
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20110610/msgs/988216.html