From Our Lab to Your Door

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From Our Lab to Your Door (Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Ads) Aaron Bilsky Reece Castillo Shaun Anderson West Coast University Abstract Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of pharmaceuticals – drugs directly marketed to consumers – dates all the way back to the 1700s-1800s, in a time when people with no medical background would create their own mixture of medicine. With government organizations coming into the picture, these drugs soon became the target of scrutiny giving way to new regulations and laws. From “Patent drugs” (aka “quack drugs”), to “Ethical drugs” controlled by the American Medical Association, (AMA); DTCAs increasing popularity has been met with both fortitude and controversy and both sides agree that this issue deserves attention. The consensus dissolves around whether to regulate DTCAs or to completely ban them. This paper examines the different types of DTCAs and evidence provided by both proponents and opponents. We will examine the benefits and improved quality of care and life as stated by proponents of DTCAs and evaluate the disadvantages and whether or not DTCAs lead to diminished care and create a false sense of security, causing a pandemic usage of overpriced prescription drugs as stated by the opponents. From Our Lab to Your Door (Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Ads) Robert and Dolores Crerar were happily married for 30 years. Robert loved his wife and worshipped the ground she walked on. He was a friendly man who would deliver firewood to people in need during the winter and donate most of the vegetables from his garden to his church’s food pantry. When his brother died, Robert began to suffer from severe depression and as a result, was put on Cymbalta, a drug prescribed for major depression, general anxiety, and fibromyalgia. In addition to Cymbalta, he was also prescribed different sleep aids such as Ambien,

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