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submitted 7 months ago by return2ozma@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world
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[-] AlwaysNowNeverNotMe@kbin.social 240 points 7 months ago

How about no drug adverts? Is that really so hard? I don't know a single person who has ever asked their doctor about something they saw on TV.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 91 points 7 months ago

They're only legal in two countries- the U.S. and New Zealand.

[-] metaStatic@kbin.social 48 points 7 months ago

if you didn't say NZ I literally would never have guessed. That's an actual shock.

[-] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 20 points 7 months ago

Yeah, I was amazed when I found out too. Such a weird country to have that be legal.

[-] TheFarm@lemmy.world 25 points 7 months ago

Canada has drug ads, but with special rules. You can either mention the drug name or its indication, but not both.

So you'll get ads that say stuff like "Ozempic - ask your doctor if it's right for you" with people happily eating in a coffeeshop. But they won't tell you what Ozempic is supposed to do.

[-] Default_Defect@midwest.social 3 points 7 months ago

Is that the one with the song and dance number? Probs anal seepage.

[-] lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee 11 points 7 months ago

Akshully according to the article it's only legal in 2 MAJOR countries. I'm curious to know which minor countries it's legal in.

[-] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 13 points 7 months ago

Kiwi's a bit perplexed they were called a major country...

[-] XbSuper@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

I guess the author considers Canada a minor country.

[-] lagomorphlecture@lemm.ee 1 points 7 months ago

They weren't going by landmass if it's legal in Canada.

[-] meco03211@lemmy.world 42 points 7 months ago

Had a friend with a parent that was a doctor. Apparently she could tell which commercials were getting pushed more based on what patients kept asking for.

[-] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 23 points 7 months ago

Doc, I think I have moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis, menopause, and erectile dysfunction.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 28 points 7 months ago

I don't know a single person who has ever asked their doctor about something they saw on TV.

How many people have you asked this question to? You understand reality is not comprised of your personal experiences? There are billions of people you will never meet?

It's obviously working. These companies aren't spending millions of $ on advertising just to have 0 ROI.

[-] ericisshort@lemmy.world 19 points 7 months ago

I know a few doctors, and they all hate drug commercials (as well as webMD) because patients come in with their self-diagnosis trying to order drugs like it’s a friggin restaurant. One of them told me that even when she clearly informs them that’s not how this works, they regularly get pissed off as she continues to tell them no and doesn’t budge. She also said she knows other less stubborn or principled doctors that give into the pressure, which is exactly how big pharmaceutical companies like it.

[-] helenslunch@feddit.nl 5 points 7 months ago

Well I can relate both as a professional and a consumer.

[-] restingboredface@sh.itjust.works 5 points 7 months ago

It's obviously working. These companies aren't spending millions of $ on advertising just to have 0 ROI.

I think you're probably right here, but just want to say that I've personally I've worked in multiple companies where they've spent millions on different things with no ROI. So it definitely happens. Sometimes leaders just like an idea and want to spend money on it.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 20 points 7 months ago

While I agree in principle, there are people with fibromyalgia who wouldn’t know medications exist for it otherwise, because their doctors barely understand fibromyalgia.

[-] pimento64@sopuli.xyz 28 points 7 months ago

"hmmm have you considered that chronic pain isn't real and you're lying? Don't worry, I'm still going to bill your insurance for the full price of an office visit."

[-] SeaJ@lemm.ee 15 points 7 months ago

You could always do like I do: not be a woman. No fibromyalgia for me at all. My mother and sister keep ignoring that advice.

But on a more serious note, that really has to suck. Autoimmune diseases are much more likely to affect women and are more likely to be ignored. There was a cool Radiolab episode on them. A hypothesis is that women have an overall more sensitive immune system because their immune system is suppressed during pregnancy so having a more sensitive one means you are less likely to get sick during pregnancy. Use of hormones like estriol seem to be helpful. But if you suffer from fibromyalgia, you probably know a good amount/all of that info and more.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 10 points 7 months ago

That is exactly it. One of my family members suffered from it for years before finding out about it online, and eventually had to switch to a new doctor that didn’t try to convince them it was all in their head. It’s hard to accept that the weight of a thin bed sheet on your legs being painful is just in your head, yet that’s the line they were given repeatedly.

[-] Fal@yiffit.net 9 points 7 months ago

This is true for a lot of other cases too. People live with chronic conditions because they either don't know that it's an issue and there's treatment, or they sought treatment and there wasn't any help at the time, and since then there have been new drugs release

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 7 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

There’s so much new stuff coming out that most doctors don’t know anything about it until someone mentions it or they go look it up on the internet. Some will only refer to their huge out-of-date drug encyclopedia and if it’s not there you’re SOL.

I know a few people with fibromyalgia who didn’t know that’s what they had until they saw a commercial for it. Doctors never mentioned it as a possible diagnosis.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 10 points 7 months ago

Almost as if doctors need CE training, huh?

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 1 points 7 months ago

And even then there would still be blind spots.

[-] Ghost33313@kbin.social 6 points 7 months ago

As someone who worked in the medical CE space, oh yea. The doctors who have the most pull are the dinosaurs who have been using the same techniques for decades. Meanwhile the doctors with fresher views and novel techniques based upon new evidence struggle to get a dozen doctors to attend.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 5 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Especially for general practitioners. If you’re a specialist with a narrow focus it’s ~~easier~~ not as difficult to stay current but if you’re expected to know enough about everything to refer patients to those specialists, there’s a lot to stay current on, even if you’re motivated to do so.

[-] FaceDeer@kbin.social 2 points 7 months ago

Most people don't even Google their medications or illnesses. "Ask your doctor about" is frankly not bad advice much of the time.

[-] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

I was so happy when I heard my doctor schooling a few pharma reps on how the drug they were pushing actually works.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 2 points 7 months ago

Unclear… do you mean for the better or worse? Could go either way.

[-] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 1 points 7 months ago

I'm not sure I understand your confusion.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 3 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

how the drug they were pushing actually works

Does that mean he/she was explaining the mechanism by which it works and it was good? Or was she/he explaining negative side effects they failed to mention or didn’t understand? Something else?

[-] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Ah, she was just correcting them on the mechanism of action, so I don't think it was a good or bad thing. I was paying and leaving, so I couldn't stay for the whole convo.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 1 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

Thank you for coming back to this! Yes, that sounds like a great doctor, good to hear she wasn’t having to school them on how it was causing harm or something like that.

[-] Endorkend@kbin.social 0 points 7 months ago

Then the drive should be to fix that problem rather than the symptom.

[-] treefrog@lemm.ee 8 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

There's several chronic pain conditions, such as fibromyalgia, that we don't often know what the underlying problem is.

So, we give people medication that reduces the chronic pain they live with everyday.

And as one of those people, I'll keep taking nerve blockers if it means I don't spend half the week praying for death.

[-] mateomaui@reddthat.com 3 points 7 months ago

Yeah good luck with that.

[-] magnetosphere@kbin.social 12 points 7 months ago

I wonder if they should only allow generalized, industry-wide ads that don’t focus on a specific drug, or even company.

You know, like we see ads for broad categories of food, like cheese, beef, and milk, for some reason.

“Did you know that new treatments are available for things like fibromyalgia, depression, and heart disease? Talk to your doctor today!”

[-] kungen@feddit.nu 9 points 7 months ago

we see ads for broad categories of food, like cheese, beef, and milk, for some reason.

What TV channels are you watching?

[-] Endoran@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago
[-] PainInTheAES@lemmy.world 3 points 7 months ago
[-] stolid_agnostic@lemmy.ml 11 points 7 months ago

Actually about 50% of the time your doctor will give it to you just by you asking. That's why they do this. You're not a person that advertising works on, but remember that the country is filled with monkeys.

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Maybe not medications, but people generally write off benign symptoms quickly, and a series of benign symptoms can often be an indication of something more serious.

Then that person sees a commercial and it lists all the symptoms they've been having at once and it makes them go "Hey wait a minute, all those symptoms sound familiar, maybe I should make an appointment"

Iirc there was a study a few years ago that determined that medication commercials can increase the rate people see doctors.

[-] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 6 points 7 months ago

Then you have to spend years trying to convince your doctor that it's not because you're overweight or just imagining it.

[-] cm0002@lemmy.world 2 points 7 months ago

Well yea, but that's a whole separate issue

[-] dan1101@lemm.ee 4 points 7 months ago

Awareness is probably what they're after, and it's probably worth billions to the pharmaceutical industry and the congressmen they own.

[-] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

All of the medications that are little more than QoL things. Frequent urinarion. ED. Dry mouth.

Things you wouldn’t normally ask a doctor about being a condition.

[-] EatYouWell@lemmy.world 4 points 7 months ago

I actually did with Ubrelvy for migraines, but it was something my doctor was about to give me samples of anyway.

[-] CarlsIII@kbin.social 1 points 7 months ago

But where else can I hear that awful “nothing is everything” song?!

[-] return2ozma@lemmy.world 0 points 7 months ago

That's not very capitalist of you! MURICA! /s

this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
499 points (99.2% liked)

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