3/28/2005: Pill pushers
Have you noticed how many more drugs ads are on tv these days? Ads for over-the-counter pain relief, sleeping pills, etc. have always been there, and now we have all these ads selling prescription meds too, full of lovely images and happy, healthy people. Many of them don't even say what they're supposed to cure, but they do mention the "possible side effects" - because they're required to - lengthy lists that sound worse than whatever ailment they're going after. Are we that ill?
Marilyn Manson points out in Michael Moore's Bowling for Columbine how the media, specially tv networks, feed us an endless diet of terror on the news, interspersed with commercials for products for us to buy, and then we'll feel better about it all. "Keep everyone afraid, and they'll consume. Fear, consumption.. fear, consumption." Marilyn's a smart guy.
Take it a step further and you'll notice that the network tv evening news is pretty much all drugs, supplements, and healthcare products commercials. It's kind of a shock to realize how many drug ads filter through our screens between the top disasters of any given day. Not to mention how many of the news stories involve illegal drugs, the government "war on drugs", overdose deaths, gangs and drugs, celebs in rehab, etc. etc.. And it's all brought to you by pharmaceutical companies. Well, they can afford to buy all that commercial time: according to Peter Rost, Pfizer Vice President, "in 2002 the top ten drug companies made a higher profit than the other 490 businesses together on the Fortune 500 list."
It seems to me the overall message they're trying to deliver to us is that "drugs are bad, but our drugs are good." And it seems to be working. Look around at your friends, relatives, co-workers - maybe yourself - a whole lot of people are on a whole lot more Rx meds than they used to be.
