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The FDA has recently released a study stating that the way pharmaceuticals are advertised has an affect on consumer’s understanding of those drugs.
The Department is using those studies to try and improve consumer awareness about side effects and necessity for those products.
Joel Shields, a pharmacist at Crown Pharmacy in Pella says in his experience at least two customers a day come in with questions about products they’ve seen advertised on television or other media. He says he’d like to see more restrictions on the advertising as it can create a demand for a drug that is not necessary.
That sentiment was shared by Daphne Pearson, a pharmacist at Medicap Pharmacy in Knoxville. She says that quite frequently, people will see a commercial about one drug or another.
They’ll connect the symptoms the condition the drug treats to their own symptoms and self-diagnosis themselves with the illness. The staff at Medicap Pharmacy notes that they frequently get phone calls about drug commercials.
Pearson says she wishes drug companies would do more education about the illnesses rather than connecting the symptoms with a drug.