Am I the only one that finds this just a bit bizarre and somewhat sad?

[swandancer]

You are absolutely RighT! Not only do they waste money advertising to consumers, but they also lobby doctors directly, wasting time and money! IMO drug companies should only receive ad space in physicians journals along with documented uses, side effects, and alternatives!

[longlivethedream]

not only that but dr.'s get kick backs from drug companies for pushing the stuff. some dr.s are pretty much licensed drug pushers. good luck.

[g0244]

Yes...they are actually walking into doctor's offices and saying that now. Those same companies pay big bucks to drug reps to hock their drugs at the doctor's office and they bring along nice lunches when they do...not to mention lots of pens, notepads, clipboards, and other gizmos with their namebrand all over it. I dont know about you, but I would rather pay pennies for my prescription.

[ScoobyD]

They have to spend their money someplace so they can write it off on their taxes. It goes to show the profit that they make.... I was on gabapentin(Neurontin) for some time and my script cost $1200 a month. Its ridiculous.

[Christina5168]

Eh, it's not bizarre, they just care about making money.Sad, maybe.But no, if someone needs a prescription, it should be their doctor's job to tell them that, not some actor on a TV commercial.

[lauraa7280430]

no i dont agree with you at all. i feel that the drug companies know that a doctor will prescribe you with, lets say, a back pain reliever. now, you have seen tons and tons of commercials for one medicine, and so you feel like you know a little bit more about it than another one that the doctor might have given you. the drug companies need to make money, and advertisement is the way to do that.

[WildatHeart3063]

Worse yet are the sales reps who take the samples to the doctors and "sell" the doctor on them. That gives the doctor the ability to hand out sample packs which most folks in their right mind will take because they are FREE. If they give enough away, people start requesting them the next time. etc. THAT should be illegal. The combined cost of the reps salaries and the cost to produce and package the sample packs should be used to reduce the initial cost of the drugs when they are approved and marketed to the drug stores thereby reducing the cost to all consumers.I don't have a problem paying for the R&D to get it to market in the first place if those costs are equally distributed, but they are not.

[gtbread3966]

show me the money how about herbal or homopathic cures

[celticirishtrinity]

It's not only the prescription companies. It's the country as a whole. We are in the days of the pussification of America. You can hardly hug your child without getting Social Services called on you, let alone discipline them. Everyone's too interested in money to actually care about people. Health care, car companies, toy makers, food processors. Everyone says you have to eat healthy, then they jack up the prices on the food that's good for you. Junk food is cheap. That's why the country is fat. You see these morbidly obese people in the store on there little scooters because they are too fat to walk and all they are buying is chips and ice cream. I mean come on. Kids are sick all the time because everytime they have even the slightest sniffle, parents are rushing them to the doctors. They can't build up an immunity. We get fevers for a reason. It's fighting off whatever is in us. You take the fever away, it stops fighting. Where the hell did all the common sense go?

[SpencerH]

Like the AMA, the Pharmeceutical lobby is so powerful, we'll never be able to get the legislation needed to protect us from drugs the companies know are dangerous. they only tell the FDA what the FDA asks. They hide all else.