Can You Trust Drug Ads?

They promise great things, but are almost always too good to be true

Tune Out Those ‘Natural’ Ads, Too

They’re advertised as a natural way to lose weight or cure erectile dysfunction. But the healing power of “nutraceuticals” — made up of herbal products like ginseng or ginkgo biloba — is mostly unknown. “The FDA clinically tests prescription drugs, but not nutraceuticals,” says clinical pharmacist Joseph Ottinger. Because they’re not proven effective, avoid them.

Could I be that happy (allergy-free, virile, slender) if I took that pill? It’s a question you might ponder often, considering the landslide of prescription drug ads on television. Are they too good to be true?

Those scary side effects
In contrast to the pretty pictures and pleasant music, many drug ads close with a list of side effects that can scare off people who’d actually benefit from the drug. “Some of these medications, like cholesterol-lowering drugs, are safe and helpful to people who need them,” says internist David Caccese, M.D., of Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “But seeing the ads can make them fearful.”

Oversimplification
Are temporary anxiety and full-blown depression the same thing? Drug companies want you to think they are. “Everyone gets distraught sometimes over an event like the loss of a loved one,” Miller says. “But not everyone gets clinical depression, which affects your ability to function day to day.”

Misleading information
In one of the best-known examples of this, the FDA warned the maker of arthritis drug Vioxx that it had minimized potentially serious side effects. The company later voluntarily pulled Vioxx off the market after its own study showed the drug could double the risk for heart attack or stroke.

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