A time when it was illegal to advertise prescription drugs on television

Perhaps many of you are too young to remember, but there was a time when it was illegal to advertise prescription drugs on television, and when it was made legal, you could not, at first, say what the drugs did, leading to bizarre commercials for drugs whose purpose remained a mystery unless you “asked your doctor.”

A time when it was illegal to advertise prescription drugs on television

Prescription Drug Ads: Disease or Cure?
Perhaps many of you are too young to remember, but there was a time when it was illegal to advertise prescription drugs on television, and when it was made legal, you could not, at first, say what the drugs did, leading to bizarre commercials for drugs whose purpose remained a mystery unless you “asked your doctor.”

In America, at times we have decided as a society that it is in the public’s best interest to ban advertising for some products, like the ban on television ads for tobacco.

But has the legalization of prescription drugs ads been a positive or a negative thing for our society?

FIRSTLY, By being able to advertise directly to consumers, do these ads encourage drug companies to create conditions that weren’t previously thought of as sickness?

SECONDLY, Might people demand prescription drugs they really don’t need, and could doctors be influenced by the demands of their patients? Or do prescription drug ads serve a useful function in our society, letting people know about new choices and possibly encourage the under-treated to seek treatment for their medical conditions? LASTLY, What would you prescribe?

Firstly, Birkner, Christine. “Rewriting the Scrip.” Adweek, vol. 57, no. 11, 2016, pp. 15–18, http://nuls.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.nuls.idm.oclc.org/docview/1781525988?accountid=25320. Accessed 29 Sep. 2016.

Secondly, Morreim, E. Haavi. “Prescribing under the Influence.” Santa Clara University, 2001, https://www.scu.edu/ethics/focus-areas/bioethics/resources/prescribing-under-the-influence/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2016.

Thirdly, Moynihan, Ray, and Alan Cassels. Additionally, “A Disease for Every Pill.” Nation, vol. 281, no. 12, 2005, pp. 22–25, http://nuls.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=18417661&site=ehost-live. Accessed 29 Sep. 2016.

Fourthly, Public Broadcasting Service.  Also, “The Other Drug War.” Frontline, 19 June 2003, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/other/interviews/taurel.html. Accessed 29 Sep. 2016.

Further, Scott, Dylan. “The Untold Story of TV’s First Prescription Drug Ad.” STAT, 11 Dec. 2015, https://www.statnews.com/2015/12/11/untold-story-tvs-first-prescription-drug-ad/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2016.

Finally, Xie, Ying, and Lakshaman Krishnamurthi. “Talk to Your Doctor About…” KelloggInsight, 2 Mar. 2011, http://insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/talk_to_your_doctor_about. Accessed 29 Sep. 2016.