Ed, here in Austin we have the Austin Lounge Lizards. They put this song out a couple of years ago on a CD. We love 'em. Fits in with your blog...  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYodDH4qZQo

oldsquid
Austin, TX American-Statesman

[Excellent calamari! -ED]

You see these ads on TV about Rx's and the so called side effects. It really makes you want to take that medication. 

NOT!!!!!

Pretty scary.

DLB57

Great Falls, MT Tribune

Last time I bothered to listen, there was a disclaimer that statins had not been shown effective in prolonging life. I feel no need to lower cholesterol for its own sake. There was one cancer chemotherapy advance that prolonged life by 2 months, most of which was spent either in the hospital or feeling like spit from the treatment. Give me a good old fashioned death panel.

brerrabbit

Lafayette, LA Daily Advertiser

Good one Ed, Great topic. I watched one the other night about a pill for depression. The side effects were worse then having depression. I like the very end when they say if any of these side effects occur while taking the drug stop taking the drug.

HELLO !!!

catmandu

Palm Springs, CA Desert Sun

How many times do I have to remind sheepfold America that the American OTC and Prescription Drug Cartel owns and operates the FDA? No medicine actually does anything anymore. It all helps. It all contains mysterious thaumaturgical whatchumacallits and psuedo-philo hoobuhjoobahs. And Americans buy all of that. Then the verbal small print, faster than a tobacco auctioneer, "Some side effects may be headaches, bladder dysfunction, temporary blindness, flat feet, butt falling off and all your female children growing up to look like Henry Kissinger in drag." But Americans don't hear that. They hear, "It will make you feel better." And we get another windfall of thalidomide babies. And the drug company says "oops." And the government says, "Well, that was then. This is now. Moving right along..." BAAAAA, BAAAA.

iconoclast

Phoenix, AZ Arizona Republic

[Take a chill pill. -ED]

I don't know if warnings make people afraid. Maybe after a lifetime of warnings we are immune to the fear. I remember a certain activity that would cause hair to grow in the palm of your hands and make you go blind, yet it didn't stop boys from doing that activity.

Antonious

Austin, TX American-Statesman

[They got the side effects wrong.  It actually caused hair to grow out of your nose and ears later in life. -ED]

So you are saying consumers of medications should have some legal protections because the drug companies might not disclose fully without them? I happen to agree, but on another day wouldn't you call that kind of thing a big-government intrusion into the freedom to conduct business?

GimmeChocolate

Lafayette, LA Daily Advertiser

[If you must make it political -- I tried not to -- I'm also saying that despite big guv's over-intrusion there are still real consumer protections that they overlook...thereby wasting our tax dollars, as they do with nearly everything else they touch. -ED]

I know folks who have ended up in the ER because of the side-effects of the drug they take to counter-act the side effects of the drug they take to counter-act the side effects of the drug they take, that they have forgotten why they were taking in the first place.

Good GawdYall

Palm Springs, CA Desert Sun

60 years ago there was 15 different diseases...now there are 1500 (or more).

artdoyle

Des Moines, IA Register

[There were only 15 Rx drugs back then. The more they invented, the more diseases they needed. -ED]

As one doctor told me as he prescribed an anti-biotic:  "Like all oral medications, side-effects range from nothing to death."

That covers all the relevant ground.

inpointoffact

Lansing, MI State Journal

Wow. Looks like Eddie is all FOR government regulations, at least when it's regulations he agrees with. But when it's a regulation his nemesis wants, it's some sort of socialist-Nazi takeover of the free market. Hypocrisy, thy name is Eddie.

ThinkTwicePlease

Wausau, WI Daily Herald

[Last time I looked, wizenheimer, most TV stations and networks were private, commercial entities that, despite FCC licensing, have the ability to refuse advertising that they deem unsuitable -- especially if the advertiser's claim is suspect or unproven.   For instance, if a car company wants to say that a particular model gets 40 mpg, they better have an EPA rating or some credible test results to back it up. Similarly, while MTV may readily advertise condoms CBS has a perfect right to refuse such ads.  Also, as I said up-thread, I'm saying that despite big guv's over-intrusion there are still real consumer protections that they overlook -- thereby wasting our tax dollars, as they do with nearly everything else they touch...everything that lefties can't wait for them to control. -ED]

Yeah, we take medicine to keep us alive and healthy then do blood work every three months to be sure it is not killing us.

dodudley

Montgomery, AL Advertiser

I agree they should disclose these facts, and Dr.'s should disclose them to every patient they prescribe them to, not by providing the literature for them to read, but telling them or showing them a video or other verbal disclosure so they know that these facts are understood. It would save lives as well as save the Dr's and Pharmaceutical companies millions in lawsuits they are paying when these real risk factors are realized to have often devastating long term, or other negative effects that short term studies usually only done on healthy white young men are taken long term by all other patient samples in our communities at large. As with the large tobacco companies still able to sell their poisons at large to the masses it’s likely the large amount of $$s lobbied that allow these crimes to be legally committed at the risk of the less wealthy, less healthy patients whose lives, and well being are gambled for the enormous profits these corporations rake in with these drugs and all the industries they support. Yes lives are saved and pain is lessened but we all know the reality of corruption that this industries fuels for same reasons.

coveclimber

Indio, CA
[Your comment is comprehensive and valid but it fails to address the lighter-hearted point of my rant...that while the government has forced side-effects disclosure in advertising no drug company has ever been made to give an effects disclosure.  As a conservative and a skeptic the first thing I ask my doctors when they want to prescribe something is "What results can I expect?" The second question is "At what cost?" -- including side effects. -ED]

Because the FDA is a hopelessly inept organization whose rules don't make any sense and do nothing to enhance safety or effectiveness of drugs. A crack team of homeless monkeys...could do a better job and would cost less.

vortican

Lansing, MI State Journal

You know Ed... If we were able to negotiate drug prices like the Canadians do... or at the very least have the ability to buy our drugs from Canada, not only would we pay roughly 4 times less for the same drugs, we'd also see fewer of those Cialis bathtub ads.

That's a win-win in my world.

FriendsElectric

St. Cloud, MN Times

[Works like this...

Doctor: "Get this Rx filled immediately, take 2 pills before bedtime and call me in the morning."
FE: "First I've gotta take a trip across the border to haggle with my pharmacist." -ED]

Never forget that Vioxx and all pharmaceuticals were approved by the Federal Government/FDA. Yes, the same Government that some want to manage/provide "Cradle to Grave" health care..."Big Pharma" haters, try this on for size...just one example.
When you have crushing chest pain and it radiates up into your jaw and down your left arm along with the sweat rolling off of you and you can hardly breath, yes you are probably having the "Big One". Now, if you live long enough to get to the ER or until the paramedics arrive; be sure to refuse the aspirin that they want you to chew, refuse the oxygen and the Nitro that will help more oxygen get to your starved heart. No IV's as those are also made by "Big Pharma", as are the aforementioned drugs. Are you getting my point, or is it too subtle?

Don't forget that "Big Pharma" developed Penicillin during the WWII and was responsible for saving hundreds of thousands of lives -- just during the war. It kinda kept individuals from dying from infection, which up until that time, was the biggest killer on the battlefield. Back in the day even the slightest wound which became infected could and usually did kill you. Hate "Big Pharma" at your own peril.

KarnakTM

Great Falls, MT Tribune

A couple of you are missing the point.  You know who you are.

Ha!

Matlock61

Lafayette, LA Daily Advertiser

["Ha!" is the correct answer. Give that man a ceegar but make sure to tell him how bad it is for his health before he fires it up. -ED]

Oh, eddo--that was GREAT! I laughed long and low...

Me, I prefer the natural God-made remedies to the man-made chemicals, but that's just little Libertarian old me...

novelator

Great Falls, MT Tribune

A lot of the "over prescribing" is also generated by all the studies that "update" prior findings. Take Cholesterol for example, older populations in the agricultural era could handle 150-175 levels inspite of their diet due to their activities, now anything over 140 and you will be put on blood pressure meds. The levels have been lowered by the studies that are FUNDED or DONE by the drug companies making the product - Hmmn.

m2march

Palm Springs, CA Desert Sun

Great Blog! If we actually sat down and read all the little inserts in our meds, we might reconsider which is worse, what the drug will do to ya in side effects or the illness it "might" help.

Tdaigle