Does medical advertising tick you off as badly as it ticks me off? Who decided that medical advertising was a good thing for America? Who decided that anyone with a television is qualified to decide what medicines, medical equipment and/or nutritional supplements he or she might need? Did someone close all of the medical schools while I was sleeping?
Advertisements for prescription medicines are the strangest. I don't know about you, but if there is a new prescription medicine on the market that would be right for me, I would hope my doctor would mention it to me, not the other way around. I didn't go to medical school for a jillion years and then do a residency for another cazillion. I don't need some writing on somebody's belly or somebody yelling from mountaintops about some new medicine; it is my doctor's job to know if I need it! I might ask about an alternative to something that isn't working as well as I think it could, but I expect my doctor to know the right medicine. It is up to me to do some research on prescribed medicines in some cases, but I expect my doctor to know what new medicines to prescribe. He went to medical school!
Do you get the impression that somebody has decided all of America needs to be on drugs? If you are a little uneasy in crowds, there is a drug for it. You're not shy: you have social anxiety disorder. If the fast pace of modern life has your head full of many things and you can't stick to one subject, there is a drug for it. You're not overwhelmed; you have some kind of adult attention deficit disorder. I could give many, many more examples, but anyone with a television will understand what I am saying.
Oh, and let's not forget the list of side effects that come at the end of advertisements for prescription medicines! They always have a long list and any one of the side effects would make me refuse to take the medicine. Gosh, they make it sound as if the cure is worse than the disease!
How about those ads for medical equipment? The scooters are the worst. The advertisers would lead us to believe that EVERYBODY needs one. If you get a little winded walking around the mall, don't exercise a little bit at home to build up your stamina! Get yourself a scooter! Granted, many people need those things, but they should be a last resort, not the first resort!
The ads that make me go ballistic are the ads for nutritional supplements. Somehow, I have been operating under the delusion for decades that those things are for people who are suffering from malnutrition, having trouble eating, or needing to gain some weight. Apparently, I was wrong; they are for everybody! You no longer have to eat right; just grab yourself a container of this high calorie, fattening liquid and you are set! Now, they even package it in easy to open, carry along containers for your convenience. If you're a parent, you no longer need to feed your kid properly! Just give him a can or convenient carry along bottle of this crap specially formulated for children! They even have television ads with very healthy children chugging this stuff as if it were water!
Apparently, we need not worry about future consequences of guzzling nutritional supplements, overmedication and lack of exercise, according to the advertisements. When we are all scooter-riding, overdrugged, overweight, nutritional supplement chugging diabetics, we can have our diabetic supplies, medicines and bladder products delivered right to our doors! Wake up, people!