Since my move to the USA almost 3.5 years ago, there have been so many things that required major life adjustment. For instance, the AMAZINGNESS of cereal isles in this country!
But one thing that immediately made me turn my head was the presence of advertising for prescription medication on TV. You guessed right – there’s no prescription drug advertisements on TV. They are outlawed. I do recall some drug companies getting around this by offering advertising where no brand is names – rather prompting users to talk to their doctors about the possible drugs (and most likely the ad they’d just seen).
Of course one of the results of having prescription drug ads on television here is that the companies must list all side effects of the drug during the ad. I laugh time and time again as the poor voiceover artist basically has to tell users that a certain drug might possibly cause death or cancer or aids or any possible horrible disease that’s not even closely linked to the depression or asthma that the viewer is presumably trying to cure.
But my first – and still the funniest – experience with side effects advertising was for a drug for Restless Legs Syndrome. While I don’t wish to belittle those that obviously suffer from it, I believe I audibly howled when I heard the voiceover say that it may cause “gambling, sexual or other intense urges”. Gambling. As far as prescription medication goes, I feel like I’d generally prefer not to know that I might die if I take antibiotics for a virus that’s plaguing me. But if a doctor told me that the medication he’s about to give me may give me the urge to hit up Atlantic City with a wad of $100 bills, my reaction would probably turn from incredulity to curiousness. Because I’ve never been to AC. And in the same breath my next question would be about the side effects of alcohol consumption.
Mirapex RLS Ad:
MAD TV Restless Leg Syndrom Sketch
