FDA pressing mute on deadly drug warnings
Tell me something -- does anyone ruin a mood quite like Uncle Sam?
I mean, there you are flipping through the channels, when one of Eli Lilly's sexy ads for Cialis comes on the tube. Some good looking fella in his 60s pops a little pill and the next thing you know he and the Mrs. are lounging in some outdoor bathtub, ready to go at it like tigers in heat.
And that's when some breathless announcer cuts in reminding you that Cialis could leave you flopping around like a fish with a brain rattling seizure.
What a buzzkill!
Well, fret no more, little ones, because the federal government may be done sticking its joy-robbing nose into these Big Pharma advertising masterpieces once and for all. In fact, the FDA may be about to end the practice of requiring Big Pharma to list all the dangerous side effects of its drugs in commercials FOREVER.
And, believe it or not, those filthy federal liars actually have the audacity... the GALL... to suggest they're doing it for YOU!
The FDA has announced it will begin studying whether it's OK to dramatically shorten the side effects listed in drug commercials (want to guess how this ends?). Because, after all, you ought to be able to enjoy the sounds and sensations of a Paxil commercial unburdened by the knowledge that sometimes folks kill themselves after taking it.
And the worst part is Big Brother claims he's doing you a FAVOR. He thinks that you're tuning out these mile-long lists of drug dangers, and you'll pay better attention if he just hits the highlights. In other words, our government thinks you're a moron.
Well my friend, you may not be anywhere near a farm, but I can assure you that IS genuine bull crap you just got a whiff of. Remember, this is the EXACT SAME government that essentially banned outdoor advertising of cigarettes and wanted warning labels showing diseased lungs and missing teeth on every pack of Marlboros and Lucky Strikes!
Now tell me, which do you think is more dangerous -- a pack of cigarettes or a prescription bottle stuffed with a blood thinner like Pradaxa that could KILL you?!?
Prescription drug ads don't need to be tinkered with or shortened. What they DO need is to be COMPLETELY BANNED FROM THE AIRWAVES. Just about every doctor I know is getting bullied by patients who come to appointments insisting on prescriptions for some wonder drug they saw on TV.
And it's only going to get worse. So a year or so from now, when we're watching Big Pharma rake in BILLIONS while under-informed boobs drop dead from drugs they never should have been prescribed, here's a thought that's going to stick in your craw.
Good ol' Uncle Sam did this FOR you.