The Trouble With Drug Advertising

On Friday, the FDA ordered the drugs Levitra and Zyrtec to pull a number of their advertisements for improperly implying their drugs were better than competitor’s, although no such evidence exists.

Fair enough, but are implications of brand superiority the only way drug advertising is deceptive? Pharmaceutical companies regularly broadcast ads that look more like the closing scenes of Hallmark Movies than they do advertisements for controlled substances.

Drugs are obviously useful, but is it a great idea to be romanticizing them with such gusto? Exactly what are they telling us? That bliss is a pill away. That better living is achieved through drugs.

This is not a great message—and these ads border on being full-on deceptive. A few Levitra and Zyrtec ads are being removed. It would be a wise idea to consider whether we need any prescription drug ads at all.