American Medicine

It's basically terrifying. Every ad, whether it's heart mediation, diabetes treatment or even eye drops, is 90% warning. A handsome man or beautiful woman appears to mention briefly how medication x has made their life a wonderful place, before then spending up to minute and a half listing a huge collection of side effects. "May cause nausea, fainting, hallucinations, an adversity to cheese, should not be taken with aspirin, BBQ sauce, or on a Thursday" and my favorite "has not been medically proven in scientific tests". What! Isn't that the fucking point? Are they just filling capsules with chalk dust and hoping for the best?

Tylenol, an American headache pill, goes one step further and has an advert that is nothing but disclaimer. Drugs mess up your liver "so only use Tylenol when you really need to." Although the way these things are advertised you'd think the decision is more about accessorizing rather than treating symptoms.

The scary thing is how a lot of these ads are for serious drugs. Things to clear potentially fatal blood clots or treat diabetes and severe respiratory problems. All of which are presented with the white teeth, better world gloss of a well chosen small car. Shouldn't this shit be the sort of thing doctors decide rather than patients choosing the commercial with the prettiest actor?