We’re being barraged by prescription drug ads on TV. In a recent article in Psychology Today, Mark Bekoff, Ph.D., said it’s getting worse. 

“We are indeed continually being swamped with these sorts of advertisements with no end in sight,” said Bekoff, “despite most people and physicians wanting them to disappear.”

According to Joanne Kaufman of the New York Times, “Over 771,000 such ads were shown in 2016, the last full year for which data is available.”

The commercials show healthy- looking people enjoying the great outdoors as they run past the porta-johns with their dog in pursuit. The commercials are usually filled with fake patients and fake doctors. And how many times do you hear “Ask your doctor” during these commercials?

“Then come the possible side effects of some of these prescription drugs,” Kaufman wrote. “Swelling of legs, hands and feet; capillary leak syndrome; fever; muscle pain; unusual bruising; dizziness; blurry vision; rash; hives; blisters; nervous system and blood disorders; lymphoma; swollen tongue; dry mouth; weight gain; inability to fight infections; nausea; diarrhea; constipation; depression; dehydration; suicidal thoughts. Oh, and death.”

Yikes! Makes me want to smoke a cigarette. And I don’t smoke. If I did, I wouldn’t know what brand to buy. The FTC yanked cigarette ads from TV, with the last ad running January 1, 1971.

Now I’m not condoning smoking cigarettes, so don’t start blasting me with hateful emails. My own brother died of lung cancer. But is smoking cigarettes any more dangerous than some of these prescription drugs? Does cigarette smoking lead to fever, muscle pain, depression or suicidal thoughts? I don’t understand why the First Amendment protects Big Pharma’s TV advertising, but not Big Tobacco’s.

Then there’s alcohol. When was the last time you heard or read about the possible side effects of beer, wine or liquor on a TV commercial? Yet they’re allowed to advertise.

And there’s the sugary drinks. And my wife’s sugary birthday cake that we finished off last night. Did it come with a list of side effects? Of course not. Would I have read them? Nope.