American Medical Association recommends ban of drug ads to consumers

Smart - this is what we have in Canada but it's only partially effective because we get the US ads.

Good luck trying to implement this in the US. Americans don't ban acts that are committed by companies. They only ban acts committed by people that interfere with companies, like filming animal cruelty in slaughterhouses. And anyway the drug industry is one of the richest and most powerful lobbyists in Washington so this will never happen.

I thought it was a good tie in to the story yesterday that TPP Food Policy should be 'science based' except where it interferes with profit.

http://www.canadaka.net/link.php?id=93845

I'm sure drug companies will forgo profits in lieu of making people safer, right?

Yeah I missed that one. We're screwed. Deals like TPP always go through, they always fuck over the people in favour of the corporations, and they're always binding commitments so that even if you elect a different government, you can't realistically get out of them.

That's just how the world works now and we'll never be able to change that.

That's quitter talk.

We can change anything we want to, if we have the will. But like I always say, prevention is cheaper than mitigation.

Actually I'm opposed to this. These commercials may make the drugs out to be minor miracles but, given that they have to list the extremely rare, deadly and adverse side effects most of which make the disease pale in comparison it actually balances out the claims made by the manufacturers.

Only an idiot would take a drug that could and likely would potentially kill you because of other conditions.

Mainly, doctors should be the gatekeepers here instead of just acting as pushers for big pharma. As for idiots, there's plenty around, especially if they are suffering a debilitating condition and hope these drugs will help. And maybe in that case it is worth the risk.

The doctor is the only one qualified to determine what medication you need. Even with the disclaimer the patient is not knowledgable enough. Besides, we all know how advertising works, facts don't get absorbed by the audience.

The doctor is the only one qualified to determine what medication you need. Even with the disclaimer the patient is not knowledgable enough. Besides, we all know how advertising works, facts don't get absorbed by the audience.



I can't believe you just said that. Doctors are probably the most ill informed people in the medical loop. Prime example. Went in 4 years ago for some Arthrotec and the good doctor handed me a prescription for oxycontin. When I asked him if he knew how addictive it was he said it wasn't. Well long story short I informed him about it's uber addictive properties and told him to Google Rush Limbaugh if he didn't believe me.

Anyway I ended up on T3's for 4 years till the CMA decided anyone who took the opiods they prescribed was now an addict.

So, given he'd been handing out these opiates like candy this same "qualified" professional handed me another prescription this time for Tramadol and was dumbfounded when I told him that some people found it extremely addictive and difficult to get off of. I then had to inform him of the history of Tramadol and the reasons it hadn't been scheduled when it was first released. A person shouldn't have to inform his doctor about the drugs the doctor is prescribing.

So, now it's Celebrex alot of pain and fuck the medical system because if these people were in any other profession 90% of them would have been shit canned for incompetence.

Anyway long story short. If you count on your doctor to be the sole arbitrator of your medicines and health you likely won't last long enough to hear the commercials warn you about all the side effects the drugs he's giving you can cause.

Addiction shouldn't matter when you're in pain, as long as you have an affordable source for the drug. What matters is how bad are the side effects vs the benefits, ie does the drug allow you to function better than without it, and tolerance. And of course there should be a good withdrawal program in place if the pain is no longer an issue. That latter, if done right, just comes down to the motivation of the patient, ie how much do you want to quit. But someone who's life is seriously impacted by pain, seems to me it's better to live with a monkey on your back.

And still, if people have success with marijuana for cancer, HIV, and other severe pain, I just don't understand why that wouldn't be the first thing to try.

Well, there are bad doctors just like there are bad everything else. Taking your story at face value, it sounds like you got a bad one. But I don't see how drug advertising changes that. Do you think the ads for Oxy or Tramadol would be any more forthcoming?

And you can get a second opinion or change doctors. But the profession itself is not the most ill-informed, in fact the doctor is at the centre of the health care industry for a reason.

Talked with a practicum (doctor apprentice if they're called different elsewhere) the other day. He told me he's already heard the "What would YOU know? I saw ---- on TV" line from 3 or 4 people.

Well, there are bad doctors just like there are bad everything else. Taking your story at face value, it sounds like you got a bad one. But I don't see how drug advertising changes that. Do you think the ads for Oxy or Tramadol would be any more forthcoming?

And you can get a second opinion or change doctors. But the profession itself is not the most ill-informed, in fact the doctor is at the centre of the health care industry for a reason.

He is definitely not the only one. I had numerous ones in the military who were just as bad. One even gave me 1 day sick leave after a gall bladder operation.

Do me favour though. Next time your doctor prescribes you a new medicine ask him what the specific side effects are as they pertain to you personally as opposed to what they say on the handout? My guess would be that he won't have a freakin clue about how the drug may react to you specifically given your health issues.

And there in lies the problem. The medical profession is a much bigger group of "miracle drugs" proponents than even their patients so, to say that taking the advertisement for these drugs off of TV is going to make a difference isn't exactly accurate, especially given that the people with the pads are in alot of cases, just as ignorant about the drug as the people they're prescribing them to.