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Creating Disease: The Business of Temporary Fixes In Melody Peterson’s “Our Daily Meds” , the history of marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical industry is explored. The first chapter of the book, entitled “Creating disease”, focuses on how major pharmaceutical companies successfully create new ailments that members of the public believe exist. According to Peterson, the success that these drug manufacturers have experienced can be attributed to the malleability of disease, the use of influencial people to promote new drugs and the efficient usage of media outlets. “There is no real definition for disease. ” This is a claim that Melody Petersen makes in her book. Most would define disease as an abnormality in regards to health. This seems logical, but it leads to the following question : what is “normal” ? What is the definition of healthy? Asking major pharmaceutical companies these questions will most likely lead to the following conclusion: disease is malleable. In other words, it is open to a certain level of interpretation. According to Petersen, giant drug manufacturers consider disease to be a business. Thus, they create a market out of people’s physical or emotional shortcomings. In 1998, Pharmacia, a large American …show more content…
Newspapers such as the New York Times published articles about “diseases” and their effects on everyday people. In the case of Detrol, reports of middle-aged people constantly having to empty their bladders lead many Americans to question their habits. Pharmacia used opinion polls and surveys as statistics, and several reporters used these surveys in their articles . Although the FDA warned Pharmacia that their statistics did not have evidentiary support, the drug company continued to sell the disease and the drug to the American public. Companies such as Pharmacia were ruthless in their quest to sell their
In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed a ruling to allow direct marketing to consumers as long as the pharmaceutical companies included warnings about possible side effects and other dangers. This change allowed for print-based marketing such as magazines, but in 1997, the FDA lessened the requirement for detailed warnings. Furthermore, the FDA ruled that TV ads containing only the main dangers of the drug were permissible, and this resulted in an inundation of the direct-to-consumer advertising on television. “One study showed that for each dollar of direct-to-consumer advertising on TV by the pharmaceutical company during 1999-2000 resulted in a return of $4.20 for each dollar spent. By 2005, the pharmaceutical industry spent over one billion on TV ads” (DeGeorge 319). Based on these facts, the advertising is paying off for these large pharmaceutical companies.
On Chapter 7, Frances describes ways the diagnostic inflation can be tamed. He stated, “We are spending a fortune fighting the losing war against illegal drugs, while barely lifting a finger to fight an easily winnable war against the misuse of legal grips”(p. 211). Before reading this book, I would have never imagined that we had a problem with people being prescribed an excessive amount of drugs they do not need. I agreed with Frances when he mentioned ways big pharma could be tamed such as reducing or removing advertisements on televisions, magazines or internet. Advertisements are very powerful and pharmaceutical companies have snuck their way into the homes of individuals. While I was reading France’s ideas, I agreed with a lot of them, but I felt that the people are still
Drug advertising for prescription medications comes in many forms including ads in magazines or newspaper, TV commercials, radio broadcasts, brochures, etc. It was in the mid 80s when drug companies started to direct information on prescription drugs to consumers instead of only focusing information on the physicians or pharmacists (FDA, 2012). The change seen in prescription drug promotion towards the public is known as direct-to-consumer advertising. This type of advertising is completely directed to a general audience rather than healthcare providers.
Prescription drug advertising is a normal part of living in the United States. Considering what people can learn through advertising in society is almost unreal. The US population have encountered drug advertisements dating back to the early 1900’s. From heroin to aspirin and everything in between were at once listed to be advertised. Fast forward to today, and pharmaceutical companies continue to use high amounts of prescription drugs advertisements. People right now are seeing the effects that these advertisements have in negative ways, but also at the same time creating benefits in society.
It may sound unbelievable that Big Pharma has tremendous influence over everybody. However, we can see advertisements and commercials everywhere around us. Commercials on television market the drugs to society by depicting nice surroundings and happy consumers. This plants subliminal messages into our brain that subconsciously affects us, telling us that this drug will produce happiness when we take it. Even ads on billboards and newspapers affect the way we see drugs. All these messages tell us that we need drugs in order to be happy in life like the mom or children depicted on T.V. Every year, the pharmaceutical industry spends over $3 billion on consumer ads and the price is nothing compared to the billions of dollars the ads help rake in.
In addition, this movie acts as a solid example of the grueling path one must take for permission in releasing a medical innovation to the public. Writing for the journal The Scientist, Jef Akst stated that the film acted as a good depiction of the “hard to swallow fiscal issues of drug development” (the scientist). However, this painfully hard process exists for good reasons: they must weed out the ideas that can not be safely practiced in modern society. Also, the regulations ensure that each innovation, whether drug, therapy, or procedure, will benefit the consumer more than the side effects could harm them.
Many dangers of prescription drugs are a result of the lack of government influence and supervision in the pharmaceutical industry. It is a business that has free reign to run itself (Perkins). This creates many problems for American consumers. One of these problems is the outrageously high prices of pharmaceuticals. They are nearly impossible to afford for those without insurance, or with insurance that doesn’t cover prescription drugs. Studies performed by the Kaiser Family Foundation show that, “private employer-sponsored health-insurance premiums rose 13.9% this year, the most since 1989”, a trend that is expected to continue for many years to come (Coy). The rising costs of health insurance along with the already high prices of prescription drugs make pharmaceuticals difficult for many Americans to afford.
The mass production of consumer products has given rise to excessive use of branding. Due to increase in competition between companies that produce similar products, companies now aim to differentiate their product from others by solidifying their brand identity and creating awareness about their brands. The utilization of such branding strategies would not be much of a concern if they were only restricted to consumer products like food, clothing, beverages (Coke, Pepsi), etc. However, the influence of these strategies extends well beyond that. Even pharmaceutical companies have undertaken the approach of Direct-To-Consumer Marketing strategies where they target millions of healthy Americans by exposing them to persuasive commercials in the hope that they would buy the drugs sold by these pharmaceutical “brands”. This approach is very contrasting to the strategies used by pharmaceutical companies in the past. Previously, when patients needed medical attention, they would consult their doctors who would prescribe an appropriate medication for curing their illness. Due to this, pharmaceutical companies would target their marketing to medical professionals and doctors by promoting their drugs at conferences and in medical journals. However, today they have started using Direct-To-Consumer marketing strategies that entail consumer advertising, which directly target the consumers. The purpose of this research paper is to analyze the ways in which pharmaceutical companies use Direct-To-Consumer marketing for selling ailments to healthy customers and disillusion them into believing that they have a disease. To support this argument, the research paper will touch upon various marketing strategies that pharmaceutical companies use to creat...
The relationship between doctors and medical or corporate representatives is an old time practice in which the corporate representative primary goal is to directly inform the medical profession of the company’s products. There is nothing wrong with this practice, but it becomes situational when the medical representative is being offered financial incentives or on the company’s pay policy. Recently, GlaxoSmithKline publicized that they stop paying physicians to promote their products and try new marketing strategies (article 1). GlaxoSmithKline’s new policy is an improvement from the ethical standpoint because the relationship between the two parties are tainted and no longer a respectable relationship. This essay reviews the aspects conspicuous relationship between medical profession and drug companies, such as GlaxoSmithKline, and its future consequences.
Direct-to-consumer advertising for psychotropic medications is something that is so common place it is hard to believe that there was a time when we were not being told to ask our doctor about the newest antidepressant on the market. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lifted the ban on DTC advertisement for prescription medication in 1985 (Corrigan, Kosyluk, Konadu,& Park, 2014), but it was not until 1997 that it really took off. In 1997 the FDA made it so that companies could direct individuals to websites or toll-free numbers instead of giving Brief Summary that explained how the drug worked, the benefits, and the possible adverse effects (Lurie, 2009). As pharmaceutical companies pour billions of dollars into advertising every year, the question arises
Of all the booming businesses in recent history the pharmaceutical industry makes the largest profits of any industry; making approximately three times more than the average fortune 500 company (Silverstein). At the forefront of the drug industries rise is the United States. The United States accounts for nearly half of the world’s pharmaceutical market, and the benefits are evident. The United States is seeing record high life expectancy along with an all time low death rate (“Life Expectancy at All Time High”). Countless lives have been bettered and saved because of the pharmaceutical industry and the medical advances made within. However, people must remember that the pharmaceutical industry is as much a business as anything. Like any business they are looking to profit and the best interest of the consumer is not always the top priority. Despite the opposition of eager clients, the pharmaceutical industry is in need of reform and more government regulation.
Drug companies should not be allowed to advertise directly to consumers, due to the fact that these advertisements are conventional and misrepresent the potential health concerns. For instance, drug commercials do not portray a medical condition or ailment, but rather an enthusiastic restoration towards health. Medical companies set out to capture an incredibly compelling lifestyle of portraits where brand identities create an emotional bond with the consumer. Therefore, the viewer does not receive the full context of the specific drug purpose, or potential safety impacts it may have on an individual’s health. After an advertisement for Celebrex, a drug used for treating arthritis, there were approximately 100,000 deaths and over one-million hospitalizations from causes of heart attack and stroke. According to Bob Goodman. MD at Columbia University Medical Center, “these people are seeing their doctors
The global pharmaceuticals market is a unique, dynamic, and thriving industry. It is an industry that prospers on the mentally and/or physically sick by developing, producing, and marketing various medications. Due to an ever-increasing societal culture that has normalized the consumption of drugs for health and everyday problems, the pharmaceutical industry has flourished. According to the World Health Organization (World Heath Organization; WHO, 2016), the 10 largest drugs companies control over one-third of the pharmaceutical market, in which the top firms earned upwards of 10 billion dollars annually. These large pharmaceutical firms have earned their revenues by selling sickness to the masses, as they are “actively involved in sponsoring the definition of diseases and promoting them to both prescribers and consumers” (Moynihan, Heath, & Henry, 2002). They use their power and expertise to medicalize everyday life. Moynihan, Heath, and Henry (2002) describe this over medicalization as disease mongering, where pharmaceutical companies turn
The improvement in physical and mental health due to pharmaceutical or prescription drugs, has given Americans a sense of protection and trust against drug medications. In today’s times, expanded use of prescription meds is a key component of modern health care. What Americans often fail to realize is that even though these drugs may seem safe, they can pose a threat to human life. Many consumers fail to read or pay attention to the drug labels upon use. Consumers often overlook prescription drug labels because the “labels fail to attract attention” (Bello).
Advertising is big business. And without it, most companies probably would not be as far as they are today. Say for instance Amazon. Amazon dominates the retail industry. And almost every newspaper, broadcast station, and search engine, you will see somewhere in it an Ad for Amazon. A lot of advertisement companies pay other companies huge amounts of money, just for their ad to be displayed somewhere on that companies list. One major type of advertising is drug advertisements. Drug advertising in America is huge. Not just because America has a lot of health issues, but also because American health industry is a huge monster within itself. That’s why there is a drug aimed at every target. Often, you hear a drug ad ask if your showing these types of symptoms. Then towards the end, they say the harmful side effects quickly before the commercial is over. However, the prescription drug industry is continuing to grow rapidly. And it looks as if there are no signs of slowing down.