I realize that I am depressed and I should suck it up, get off my butt, and do something. Anything. Instead, here I sit in front of the TV. I was over 70 episodes behind in watching my soap. The Young and the Restless. Not anymore. I am fully up to date on the actions of Victor Neuman (I secretly refer to him as "sphincter", what with him being a tight a$$). See, I have not fallen fully into the depths of despair, I still have the ability to make fun of others. My specialty.
So, while I sit and watch the insane antics of the soap characters and put puzzles together on Jigidi as if my very life depends on the completion, it has come to my attention that the Pharmaceutical Companies are spending billions on TV ads.
These ads are sometimes 2 minutes long! Imagine the cost involved in the production alone, then the air time ....... then, at the end, they will tell you "if you can't afford your drugs, the drug company may be able to help." That's after they have listed possible side effects. I am willing to bet the advertising budget is so large as to be a hefty tax deduction. Suppose the IRS could offer the same deduction for discounted drugs?
The ads implore one to "ask your doctor if this drug is right for you", as if we all have medical degrees and are able to determine what drugs we need. Isn't it enough that the population has been glutted with antibiotics they didn't need? Doctors succumbing to the constant demand for antibiotics for things like the common cold has immunized us to the antibiotic and created super bugs.
Wow, I still have the ability to rant! I will rise now from my soap box and go scrape the window I painted yesterday ( my only accomplishment yesterday). I might just use my outrage to start on the cabinets!!
6 comments:
You are right on the money about this! Give them all a piece of your mind. It's good for the soul.
Pharmaceutical companies should rot in hell. Happy scrapeing.
One of my pet peeves= the insane amount of drug commercials, I just mentioned last evening imagine how much they are spending on ADs. IF they didn't do that maybe the cost of drugs could come down! And like you I feel Jo-Blows should not be asking Dr's to prescribe these drugs, if we can do that then we should be able to eliminate the visit to the DR altogether! Its a racket.
My husband, often the jokester, will take a list of drugs he's seen advertised on tv to the dr's office when he goes in and tell her she must prescribe these for him. They are, of course, not anything he needs (at 67 he takes no drugs whatsoever) and the two of them have a good laugh over the whole thing. She has told him, though, that she gets patients who truly believe the ads and think they should have some of these drugs prescribed to "cure" them. More like kill them!
It's the list of side effects that turn me off. I wouldn't take any of these drugs as the "cure" sounds worse than the illness. I had a dear friend who, when she died, left behind 17 drug bottles on her dining room table. I had to convince the drug store to take back the unused stuff. I put it all in a bag, took it to the prescribing pharmacy, and left it there. The pharmacy techs stood there with their mouths open. They don't want the stuff either.
AND the pharmaceutical reps drop off tons of free samples at the doctor's office. Who's paying THAT bill?
earlier this year I started making a list of the drugs these companies advertise on TV. I haven't counted them but there are at least 40, probably more. and if I have to ask my doctor if a drug is right for me then my feeling is that he or she isn't a very good doctor. those ads run through the side effects as if they are on speed and well they should because if anyone listens, they won't want the drug. and speaking of speed and the drugs companies offer, didn't they warn us kids about that? first one's free.
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