September 30th, 2007 by Phil

Did you know that the combined sales, of the top pharmaceutical companies in 2004 amounted to 550 Billion dollars? Just to reiterate, that’s Billion, not million in sales. Unfortunately a large proportion of their profits go into advertising campaigns rather than research. Unaware that these corporations are profit and success driven, we become susceptible to their advertising campaigns selling the dream of a perfect life.

As most of their profits come from prescription drugs, their campaigns have taken a strategic shift to maximize profits. One way they have done this is by targeting doctors. They even suggest that you go ‘Ask you doctor about …X drug’ in their advertisements. Considering that the average American spends three and three-quarter hours in front of the television a day, it’s unlikely that we have not been exposed to their advertising efforts.

Did you know that there an estimated 100,000 deaths in the US each year from adverse drug reactions? Unfortunately we never get shown or told the uglier side in these advertisements. Instead we are subjected to false hopes of a perfect and healthy life. Well it’s good to know that these big pharmaceutical companies aren’t just in it for the money and really have our health and well being in mind (sarcasm). So before you go rushing out to ‘Ask Your Doctor’ about the next life changing pill, watch this video: