Wednesday, February 07, 2007

TV Pharmaceutical Ads

Another blog that some of you might want to check out is Slashdot.org. They always have interesting science news!

I was reading a thread there and couldn’t help but to relate it to some of the discussions we've had in class about the general public believing everything they see on television or in the news. This discussion was specifically about if Pharmaceutical companies are taking advantage of the ignorance of the general populous. It's easy to think that many of these drugs will cure these ailments like heartburn, erectile dysfunction, depression and so on... but, the advertisements are made to appeal to the emotional side of the viewer and shy away from the facts about the drugs. They confuse the viewer about things like the product’s side effects just so they can sell the drug. This was no surprise to me since that is what they ads are trying to do in the first place but it’s not easy to sit back and let it happen while people with a scientific background know better.

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