I need that drug, I think.

I unfortunately watch too much TV. After my twenty nine years of TV viewing, I have noticed something that I find terribly interesting. I have a question that needs answering. No doubt that the answer has to do with money. I am lucky enough to have satellite TV with a receiver that has the ability to fast forward through commercials on recorded TV. With this capability I am able to avoid most of the commercials that are peppered throughout all of my TV shows.

Every commercial that comes on TV is a prescription drug ad.
I can't watch TV for four minutes without thinking I have five serious diseases.
Like: "Do you ever wake up tired in the morning?"
Oh my god I have this, write this down. Whatever it is, I have it.
Half the time I don't even know what the commercial is:
people running in fields or flying kites or swimming in the ocean.
I'm like that is the greatest disease ever. How do you get that?
That disease comes with a hot chick and a puppy.
- Lazy Boy

One of my favourite bands wrote that lyric. He sure hit the nail on the head with that one. The question I have is this.

Why are prescription drugs advertised on Television?

I would like to think that I do not have to go to my doctor and tell him what drugs I need for my illnesses. Is my assumption that a doctor is more intelligent in concerns related to the medical field of drugs than the average person, be incorrect? Did my doctor not go to school? Does he not have a medical degree? I am sure that in his seven years of schooling that he might have taken a class or two that would help him in diagnosing and curing patients. I would also imagine that he would keep current with the newest drugs and medical procedures. I have no doubt that he might receive a doctor’s magazine or other such literature that would keep him updated. Teachers, real estate agents, and even farmers have to continually update their knowledge to stay accredited. I would like to think that doctors do as well. The idea that a doctor has to watch TV in order to learn about the newest drugs is absolutely asinine. Do I now need to ask my doctor how much TV he watches a day in order to discover how up to day he is?

I have always been a firm believer that a person should always learn about and gain as much information they can before making a purchase. If I was to buy a new TV I would do as much research on the newest styles of TV's and technology before I even walked into a store. Buying a TV and diagnosing and deciding on a treatment for health conditions are two vastly different things. People do not go to school for seven years before they buy a TV. People do not buy TV's every day. A doctor diagnoses and chooses among treatments for patients on an hourly basis for years. There is no doubt in my mind that a person could do enough research that they would surpass a doctor's knowledge in the medical field. Keep in mind that everyone thinks that they are the world’s smartest person. Really, your average person is a moron. If you don't realize that you are a moron then compare yourself to Bill Gates. Guess what you lost that comparison, moron. I don't believe that the average person has the intelligence or the ability to take charge of their own health care decisions. I mean your health is the most important thing. Most people can't even take charge of their own finances or change the oil in their own vehicle, and let us not forget the average person's inability to properly raise a child.

The problem with such "direct-to-consumer," or DTC, advertisements is that they may generate excessive demand because people go straight to their doctors asking for this or that specific medication. In a 2006 survey by our National Survey Research Center, 78 percent of doctors said that patients asked them at least occasionally to prescribe drugs they had seen advertised on television. My thought is they must have flipped the channel before they heard the soothing voice list off all the side effects for these drugs. I mean why in the world would I; take a drug that has a side effect worse than my original illness. If I have restless leg syndrome, which only 3% of people have, and take one of these drugs I do not think that relief from my restless legs in exchange for anal leakage as being a good trade off. One of the newest ads that I have seen for restless leg syndrome has the side effects of uncontrolled sexual or gambling impulses. The uncontrollable sexual impulse I could deal with, assuming my wife is up for the challenge. Gambling losses could leave me broke and unable to purchase my medicine. Perhaps the drug companies might want to rethink that one.

Direct-to-consumer advertising has become a popular promotional tool. In 2006 alone, prescription drug manufacturers spent almost $2.6 billion on this type of advertising. If you are wondering why they are able to spend so much money on these ads and still be able to turn a profit, then let me tell you. You are morons. Your lemming like behaviour only further puts money in their Armony suit pockets. Every single person runs at a speed that would challenge land speed records every time they sneeze or cough. This type of advertising not only inspires you morons into purchasing their drugs but it also unknowingly to your average moron, you, puts the hint of fear in you. I remember my grandfather telling me that he only went to the doctors when he was on his death bed, not because he sneezed. People claim that we don't have enough doctors. If doctor’s offices were not packed to the rafters with near to death sneezing victims then with people who were actually ill might be able to see a doctor in a reasonable amount of time. If surgeons were not busy with Paris Hilton wanna-be's they might have more time to fix people who were actually in need of medical attention. I have worked as a salesman long enough to know that your average person is not only moronic but also persistent. A Canadian doctor was quoted as saying "Some people are very insistent on it, because they've heard about it through an ad, or seen it in a magazine. And they feel hard done by if you say the really tough word: No." You average consumer is more interested in getting what they want than in being correct. My fellow salesmen and I, on more than a hundred times gave into the consumer, knowing full well that the consumer was only Fu, I made a promise that I would not use that word anymore, that the consumer was only shooting themselves in the foot. No, that doesn't sound right. That the consumer was shoving a CN tower sized butt plug up their ass that was destined to explode with the force of a Nuclear weapon. When a show such as that is available to watch not even a doctor could say no.

One thing that these DTC drug ads let me know is there is a pill that will fix my acid reflux, or anxiety, or depression, or any other such minor ailment. Instead of popping a pill to relieve your acid reflux why not just alter your diet. If you are depressed but not suicidal join the club. Instead of trying to fix the problem with practical solutions you morons always seem to pop a pill to solve the problem. I think we live in a drug society. I have a headache my kid is screaming, think I will pop a pill and rid myself of the headache, let the kid scream. I am depressed because my house is a mess and my kid is screaming, think I will pop a pill to be happy and leave the house a mess, and let the kid scream. I can't sleep at night because my kid is screaming and the mice are making too much noise because they are eating the garbage around the house, think I will pop a sleeping pill and let my kid scream and allow the mice to keep eating. I hope I made my point. It is far easier to take a pill to fix my problem than it is to actually fix the problem. Our doctors not only have to fix our ailments but they also have to be life coaches and mothers to us all. I have to wait in the doctor’s waiting room not only because you sneezed and are freaking out, like a little bitch, but also because you have to tell the doctor your life story in hopes that the doctor has a solution to your work problems or car problems. I think that doctors have enough to worry about and enough to do then to be life coaches for your sorry ass. They should not have to say "No, you cannot have that drug you don't need it. You headache will go away when your baby stops crying. So change his diaper and get on with your day." You doctor is an expert in the medical field. If he feels you need a drug or need to change the drugs that are already taking, I am sure he will let you know. He does not need your peanut gallery, backseat driving, tid-bits of useless incoherent, imprecise, inaccurate, misunderstood, medical advice to prescribe you with the proper treatment for your mentally made up malady. Don't pee on your doctor’s leg and tell him it is raining. He can figure out these things on his own. He is the smart person you’re the moron. The quicker you get that thorough your thick head the better.

Increased drug advertising will lead to increased prescribing and increased costs to the healthcare system. "The biggest increase in healthcare costs has been drugs. I think that consumer-driven demand for it will make that figure much bigger," says Vancouver doctor John Mail. Perhaps our government should stop giving themselves raises (keep in mind you bitches voted them in) and start giving themselves pay cuts to help pay for the ever increasing health care costs. Or better yet start educating your average person. Stop training them to be Lemmings. The attitude of consume, consume, consume is not working for planet earth. There is no doubt that there is enough money to pay for health care, it is just not being paid for by the right people. When I say people I also include corporations. I fail to see why someone who owns a ten million dollar home, and vacations in Paris does not pay through the teeth for health care tax. As I have said before the rich pay none of the taxes and do none of the work, while the poor and middle class pay all the taxes and do all the work. We should just get rid of the monetary system all together and think of a new idea. This is for another rant.

As many Canadians enter rehabilitation centers for prescription drug abuse as for ecstasy, cocaine/crack, methamphetamine, and heroin addictions, according to a recent study from the Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada. Too many people have dangerously casual attitudes toward legal medications. For the general public, TV advertising makes use of these drugs seem like an everyday convenience rather than an important decision worthy of serious consideration. Except for New Zealand, no other country in the world allows manufacturers to market prescription drugs directly to consumers. And Americans think they are better than New Zealander's. I can only hope that our health care system is not paying for rehabilitation costs. I think that drug companies should be forced to pay for a percentage of the costs of rehabilitation costs. Although there is little doubt that they would only pass on the expense to the consumer. I think that is also criminal and a little too convenient. Owners of baseball teams and hockey teams put a cap on player’s salaries, no doubt so that owners could put more money in their own pockets. Perhaps this salary cap is a good idea just not implemented properly. How about a cap on drug companies net profits; why stop at drug companies we should put this cap on Wal-Mart or any other such company. All over flow above the cap is put directly into minimizing their environmental impact, or into finding a cure for some terrible disease. Once again this is for another rant.

I am going to try to sum up this vast rant in a few paragraphs.

Prescription drug advertising pressures health professionals to prescribe particular medications, and often the ones that may be less effective and more expensive and dangerous. This intrudes in the relationship between medical professionals and patients, and disrupts the therapeutic process. It takes up valuable time to explain to patients why they may have been misled by the drug advertisements they have seen.

Prescription drug advertising is not educational. It is inherently misleading because it features emotional imagery and omits crucial information about drugs and their proper use, as well as about side effects and contraindications that can be found on the full legally approved label. Drug companies have an inherent and irredeemable financial conflict-of-interest which drives them to exaggerate the positive and minimize the negative qualities of their own products.

At a minimum, direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising should not exist unless accompanied by the full legally approved label. Nor should drug ads be allowed to display imagery that is primarily emotional and not educational. Drug ads on TV and radio should be prohibited because they cannot meet this standard for truthfulness.

I think that sums it up. I should not forget the most important part of this rant, the part where I talk about you being a moron. Dumb ideas come from people with dumb drains.

Don't let the terrorists win. Stop funding terrorists by buying into drug ad propaganda.