Mandi Brown

I was awakened by my six year old daughter in tears and complaining of her stomach hurting. When I asked her what was wrong, she replied that she needed a pill to fix her E.D. My initial amusement turned into disgust when I realized the message we are sending to our younger generation. Not only do parents have to explain erectile dysfunction to their four year olds, but these advertisements are creating a culture of drug dependent hypochondriacs.

The advertisements cover long lists of ailments and symptoms that might be ailing you and then suggest a prescription drug is the answer to their prayers. Usually, after showing people depressed and surrounded by a gray haze, the drug is introduced, and the sunshine comes out providing a solution to all their life problems. The commercial will conclude by telling you to ask your doctor for the drug.

What? I thought when I went to the doctor; I was paying her to tell me what medicine I needed, not the other way around. The bombardment of prescription drug ads has created self diagnosing citizens that think a pill will cure any issue they have. I believe that it is unethical to advertise medications as commodities and encourage people to rush to their doctor to get the latest thing on the market.

Breakthroughs in medicine should be embraced by the medical community, but not marketed to the masses like candy bars. I think that the prescription drug companies should show discretion when marketing their product. I believe that they have an ethical responsibility and moral obligation to narrow their target audience to medical professionals. Advertising these drugs has turned our physicians into salesmen and generated a drug dependent population.

Would eliminating prescription drug advertisements reduce our dependency on medications?

Graphic Credit:
Sabrina Segal