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A Disease for Every Pill.

Authors :
Moynihan, Ray
Cassels, Alan
Source :
Nation. 10/17/2005, Vol. 281 Issue 12, p22-25. 3p. 1 Illustration.
Publication Year :
2005

Abstract

Criticizes the pharmaceutical industry for advertising diseases in order to sell drugs. Case of the advertisement of drugs for premenstrual dysphoric disorder, a condition about which it is debated whether it exists; Target of pharmaceutical advertising to young women who are then made to believe they have psychiatric disorders; Report that the pharmaceutical industry in the U.S. spends more than $3 billion a year on direct-to-consumer advertising; Use of advertisements to introduce consumers to previously unheard-of conditions; Claim that pharmaceutical company Lilly used the premenstrual dysphoric disorder to extend its patent on the antidepressant Prozac, renamed and marketed as Sarafem; Claim that advertisements are being used to sell the idea that everyday human experiences are symptoms of medical conditions requiring treatment with drugs; Discussion of the side effects of various drugs, including antidepressants.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00278378
Volume :
281
Issue :
12
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Nation
Publication Type :
Periodical
Accession number :
18417661