TV drug ads often make misleading claims about their products. In one case, a widely used heartburn medication was touted as a solution for sporadic indigestion when it was actually intended for severe heartburn problems.
While federal regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are supposed to monitor such ads, complaints do not always receive immediate attention, which means that misleading drug ads are allowed to air for much longer than they should.
The New York Times June 29, 2003 (Requires free New York Times registration)
TV drug commercials are just one way the drug companies will try to influence you. Since the mid-90s, pharmaceutical companies have tripled the amount of money they spend on advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers. From 1996 to 2000, spending on these ads more than tripled, rising from $791 million to nearly $2.5 billion. The amount spent on drug ads is well over $3 billion today.
Drug companies also spend billions of dollars marketing their drugs to doctors. Study after study has found that drug company representatives greatly influence the prescribing habits of doctors. So not only are the drug companies encouraging you to ask your doctor for specific drugs through direct TV ads that may include misleading information, they are also encouraging your doctors to prescribe their drugs.
Most people expect to receive a prescription when they visit the doctor, which signals the major flaws in our health care system. Nearly two-thirds of doctors’ visits result in a drug being prescribed.
While there are times when drugs are needed, please realize that, more often than not, drugs are unnecessary and even harmful. Your body is a highly developed system that has natural defense mechanisms in place to fight off and prevent illness.
In order to keep your body’s systems working at their optimum level, you must give your body the proper fuel. This includes:
In my new book, The No-Grain Diet, I explain in detail how you can propel your body toward health, achieve a healthy weight and limit chronic disease by following these basic health principles.
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