Prescription Drug advertisements, called Direct to Consumer advertisements, or DTC for short, are dangerous. One reason for this is that “side effects are often not communicated in a comprehensive manner in advertising or marketing communications” (“Direct to Consumer Advertising” 3). Patients walk in asking for a prescription without even knowing what side effects it may have, simply because they saw a commercial for the medication and decided they needed it. Furthermore, if a patient becomes convinced they need a medication and cannot get their doctor to prescribe it, they may go to illegal measures to try to get the medication without a prescription (“Direct to Consumer Advertising” 3). This is highly dangerous, as …show more content…
However, most people do not have advanced medical degrees. Without knowledge of how medication works,, how can someone truly know what medication will solve their problem? Furthermore, DTC advertisements can make patients feel as if they know better than their doctors. “Patients who are convinced that an advertised drug will solve their problems often mistrust a doctor’s advice if the doctor suggests an alternate solution” (“Prescription Drug Ads”). The ideal situation is a scenario in which patients and doctors work as a team to combat an illness, not one in which patients feel as if they know more than their own doctor. DTC advertisements are creating the opposite climate. And although these advertisements have clear negative effects, many argue that they have had benefits to our