Look mom, there's drugs on TV!
Just what we need, an all-drugs all-the-time tv station:
Four big drugmakers are proposing to launch a television station in Europe to tell the public about their drugs, amid strenuous lobbying across Europe by the industry for an end to restrictions aimed at protecting patients. Pharma TV would be a dedicated interactive digital channel funded by the industry with health news and features but, at its heart, would be detailed info from drug companies about their meds.
...But consumer groups are opposed, warning that the companies will play down risk, and that their real interest lies in boosting profits.
Source: Pharmalot: Big Pharma's TV Shopping Channel
In Europe, pharmaceuticals aren't allowed to do direct to consumer advertising, so no one over there has to sit through gross commercials for erectile dysfunction. I find the one with the guy throwing the football through the tire to be in particularly bad taste. I also think it's funnier how the guys in the ads keep getting younger. Within ten years, I bet we'll see Viagra ads with high school jocks in the locker room talking about "performance anxiety" on prom night. Anything to keep the boomers from accepting the reality of aging, eh?