Why Does the U.S. Allow T.V. Snake Oil Sellers While Other Countries Ban Them?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the presence of drug advertisements, often referred to as "snake oil" sales, on U.S. television compared to their ban in other countries. Participants explore the implications of these ads, their perceived value, and the regulatory differences between the U.S. and other nations. The conversation touches on consumer behavior, the effectiveness of advertised products, and the nature of infomercials.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Exploratory

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants question why the U.S. allows drug advertisements that are deemed of insignificant value to viewers, suggesting a need for public protest against such ads.
  • Others mention specific cases, such as diet pill companies fined by regulatory bodies, indicating ongoing concerns about the legitimacy of these advertisements.
  • There is a discussion about the nature of infomercials, with some participants noting that while some products may have some efficacy, they often present half-truths about their benefits.
  • One participant raises the issue of "doctor related drugs," questioning their classification and the information available about them in advertisements.
  • Concerns are expressed about the lack of clarity in Canadian drug ads compared to U.S. ads, with some participants arguing that Canadian regulations may obscure product information.
  • Participants share personal anecdotes and experiences related to drug advertisements, including humorous takes on the content and their own viewing habits.
  • Some participants assert that the presence of these ads does not compel viewers to purchase the products, suggesting that the alternative programming would be equally unvaluable.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants exhibit a range of opinions regarding the value and regulation of drug advertisements. There is no consensus on whether these ads are beneficial or detrimental, and multiple competing views remain regarding their impact on consumers and the effectiveness of the products advertised.

Contextual Notes

Some participants express uncertainty about the definitions and classifications of certain drugs and advertisements, indicating a lack of clarity in the discussion. Additionally, there are references to specific products and regulations that may not be universally understood or agreed upon.

DocN
How is it possible that the United States is about the only country that allows these drug ("snake oil sellers) advertisements on T. V.? They are of insignificant value to the general viewer. How do other countries ban such a nuisance. I would suggest that we contact these T. V. stations and voice a very strong protest.
 
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Do you mean the diet pill companies that just got fined by the FDA or whoever?
 
DocN said:
They (drug ads) are of insignificant value to the general viewer. ... I would suggest that we contact these T. V. stations and voice a very strong protest.
How much of what you watch on TV is of significant value?
 
jimmysnyder said:
How much of what you watch on TV is of significant value?

Depends on what you watch! Like, tomorrow night LIVE on SPEED TV (7PM PST), the AMA Supercross season kicks off with Anaheim-1

http://www.sxgp.com/

Woo-hoo! Where's that dancing banana smiley thing...? :biggrin:
 
You must take the good with the bad...
 
berkeman said:
Depends on what you watch! Like, tomorrow night LIVE on SPEED TV (7PM PST), the AMA Supercross season kicks off with Anaheim-1

http://www.sxgp.com/

Damn, I don't get that channel :cry:

berkeman said:
Woo-hoo! Where's that dancing banana smiley thing...? :biggrin:

Haha are you a member of DRN forums by any chance? I love the dancing banana haha.
 
scorpa said:
Haha are you a member of DRN forums by any chance? I love the dancing banana haha.

No, but I've been berkeman on thumpertalk.com for a long time. Go Ricky!
 
DocN said:
How is it possible that the United States is about the only country that allows these drug ("snake oil sellers) advertisements on T. V.? They are of insignificant value to the general viewer. How do other countries ban such a nuisance. I would suggest that we contact these T. V. stations and voice a very strong protest.

The people who buy these things don't think they're a nuisance. I'd like to protest about all the freakin' sports on TV. Now that's a nuisance.


Why do snake oil salesmen they continue to do business? Because our prospering society increasingly has discretionary if not disposable cash. For the most part, our survival needs are taken care of, one way or another. The next need on some people's list is vanity.
 
I mean these "doctor related drugs" that I can't pronounce--they are banned from TV in almost all other countries.
 
  • #10
DocN said:
I mean these "doctor related drugs" that I can't pronounce--they are banned from TV in almost all other countries.
What are "doctor related drugs"? And how do you know they are banned from TV in other countries? Where are you getting this information?
 
  • #11
A lot of stuff on TV does in fact work in some way, but infomercials tell half-truth. For example, I remember an infomercial for CalMax which is just calcium and magnesium. The guy (real doctor) was saying all these great things calcium does and he included sleeping, strong bones, something about muscles, and a few other things. Everything he said is loosely based on reality in some way, but what you're not told is that having a problem with one of the above may be caused by something other than a lack of <product>.

As an example of this half-truth idea, suppose you have low energy all the time. Caffeine gives people energy; therefore, your lack of energy is caused by a lack of caffeine. Buy my caffeine pills.


Other products that do absolutely nothing are not actually promised as doing anything. This mostly applies to penis and hair growth. Selling these on TV is no more illegal than selling things in stores that are not regulated as "drugs". I'll name drop St. John's Wort as an example. I don't really know if SJW does anything, but in the eyes of the law, selling snake oil is the same as selling SJW.
 
  • #12
berkeman said:
No, but I've been berkeman on thumpertalk.com for a long time. Go Ricky!

What do you ride?
 
  • #13
scorpa said:
What do you ride?

[parallel_hijack]

I'm on an '03 CRF450R, AMA #353. My son berkeboy is on an '05 KX-85, AMA #712. And yes, he is faster than me in some places. Sigh. :rolleyes:

BTW, even if you don't get the SPEED TV channel, you can follow that link that I posted and get the live webcast audio. I've found it pretty hard to follow a motocross/supercross race with just audio, though.

[/parallel_hijack]
 
  • #14
DocN said:
I mean these "doctor related drugs" that I can't pronounce--they are banned from TV in almost all other countries.

I'm with Evo on this -- what in the world are you talking about? Real drug commercials in the US have all kinds of extra words in them to warn of the side effects and contra-indications. Could you please provide some specific examples?
 
  • #15
berkeman said:
in the US have all kinds of extra words in them to warn of the side effects and contra-indications.

Canadian ones are way worse. I don't think they're legally allowed to say what the product does (hypochondriacs + free health care = huge waste of money). You'll see some grassy field with music then it says "ask your doctor about Vioxx". Well what the hell is Vioxx? What does it do? Nobody knows.
 
  • #16
ShawnD said:
Canadian ones are way worse. I don't think they're legally allowed to say what the product does (hypochondriacs + free health care = huge waste of money). You'll see some grassy field with music then it says "ask your doctor about Vioxx". Well what the hell is Vioxx? What does it do? Nobody knows.

Vioxx (rofecoxib): a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for the treatment of osteoarthritis symptoms and pain.

Vioxx is its brand name (like Aspirin). rofecoxib is its generic compound name (like ASA).

Just because you don't know what it is doesn't mean it's a scam.
 
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  • #18
ShawnD said:
You'll see some grassy field with music then it says "ask your doctor about Vioxx". Well what the hell is Vioxx? What does it do? Nobody knows.

:smile: Everyone knows what Vioxx is! It's that COX-2 inhibitor that got recalled after causing excess deaths. Huge scandal.

Rofecoxib
 
  • #19
DaveC426913 said:
Vioxx is its brand name (like Aspirin). rofecoxib is its generic compound name (like ASA)

err, was. :rolleyes:
 
  • #20
The google ads for this thread made me laugh out loud!

Rofecoxib?
FDA Study Finds Vioxx Users at Risk Contact Our Law Firm For Details.
VioxxLawyers.AudetLaw.com

PA and NJ Vioxx Lawsuits
Call our Vioxx attorneys today for help in PA/NJ on your Vioxx case.
www.brbs-vioxx.com[/URL][/quote]
 
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  • #21
berkeman said:
[parallel_hijack]

Here's a fun thread from thumpertalk about berkeboy's progress from about a year ago:

http://www.thumpertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306281

[/parallel_hijack]

Haha good thread, great that you and your son ride together. My favorite memories are of my and my dad going out for rides together. Right now I'm on a 02 KDX 220 but the way school is I hardly ever get home to ride it anymore. I might be going home to work for the summer so if I do that will occupy my days off :biggrin:

Back on topic...my friend is a pharmacy student and she once told me about the differences between US and Canadian drug ads. It was actually pretty interesting but naturally I can't remember exactly what it was, I'll have to ask her again and post it on here.

And as far as the ads on tv, sure they are annoying but it's not like they are making you buy them. If they weren't being adverstized, the slot would be replaced by something equally useless.
 
  • #22
ShawnD said:
"ask your doctor about Vioxx". Well what the hell is Vioxx? What does it do? Nobody knows.
It kills people. So you can't claim that they don't know what it does. :biggrin:
 
  • #23
I'm not including OC drugs ( most of which are ineffective--you can take "cold medicine" and your cold will last about 14 days or do not take anything, and your cold will last about two weeks). My post was about non-OC drugs (related only to doctors). How many of us know which of these we should use? Why should we be bombarded with such drug ads? Any ways this could be stopped?
 
  • #24
Now I'm sort of confused what you're asking. There is a huge difference between "snake oil" and prescription drugs. 99% of prescription drugs actually work. Vioxx probably does do whatever it's supposed to do, they just don't say what it does other than create random grassy fields and play soothing music. That 1% that doesn't work would be Paxil, quite possibly the most useless drug in history (opinion of course).

If you're talking about As Seen On TV type drugs, there is a way to tell which ones are legit. The bull**** ones never show the price, or the company address; they'll only show a phone number and will only accept credit cards. TV products like the Ronco Food Dehydrator will always show the company's address, the price, shipping cost, and methods of payment. Useless crap like Enzyte just shows a number and has credit card logos. Even that somewhat useful Calmax calcium suppliment clearly stated the cost of the product and how you can pay for it using cheques, money orders, and credit cards.

Also, anything that shows scenes in black and white with a red X over the screen is BS. "Are you tired of doing situps that just don't give results"; boom right there we know this product is crap. "No more starving yourself"; again, if it's black and white when it says that, the product probably doesn't work. A good product will sell itself. It doesn't need stupid zany tricks.
 
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  • #25
Wouldn't it be interesting, if one is prescribed some drug by a doctor, to ask, "Show me some proof that by taking this drug, my life will be extended or improved." Would the doctor be hard put to find such a demonstration?
 
  • #26
DocN said:
Wouldn't it be interesting, if one is prescribed some drug by a doctor, to ask, "Show me some proof that by taking this drug, my life will be extended or improved." Would the doctor be hard put to find such a demonstration?
Drugs are usually prescribed to aleviate symptoms (not ment to cure) or treat a specific infection or disease. There would be tons of research on any drug showing what the anticipated benefits would be for the specific problem. You seem to misunderstand how and why prescription drugs are prescribed.
 
  • #27
Do you know of any recently, prescribed drugs by doctors, that didn't alleviate such symptoms?
 
  • #28
DocN said:
Do you know of any recently, prescribed drugs by doctors, that didn't alleviate such symptoms?
If a patient doesn't respond to a certain treatment, then the doctor will try another treatment. Medicine is not an exact science, there are usually several drugs that can treat similar symptoms and a lot of drugs that can be used to treat a broad number of problems.
 
  • #29
DocN said:
Do you know of any recently, prescribed drugs by doctors, that didn't alleviate such symptoms?

This happens all the time if the problem is not identified correctly. For example, a person with manic depression may seek treatment for depression, but a drug for depression will not fix the manic part of the problem. Drug issues can also be caused by not identifying the cause of the problem. For example, a half-ass doctor may give prescriptions for antidepressants or generic pain killers if he doesn't know what the real problem is. Another problem is that some people are simply immune to certain treatments. I know a person who cannot have her jaw frozen by the dentist; it simply doesn't work.
 
  • #30
DocN said:
I'm not including OC drugs ( most of which are ineffective--you can take "cold medicine" and your cold will last about 14 days or do not take anything, and your cold will last about two weeks). My post was about non-OC drugs (related only to doctors). How many of us know which of these we should use? Why should we be bombarded with such drug ads? Any ways this could be stopped?

You're talking about actual prescription drugs? I thought you were talking about herbal supplement stuff. Prescription drugs DO need to have both demonstrated efficacy and safety in order to get FDA approval, and go through extensive clinical trials to accomplish this.

As ShawnD mentioned, the advertisements either have to tell you all the possible side effects for the drug (the reason you get that long list of horrible-sounded side effects rattled off in rapid-fire at the end of the ads), or they can't tell you exactly what the drug is for. The idea is to inform the public that there are these drugs available, but your physician is the one who has to diagnose your condition and ensure the drug is appropriate for you before prescribing it. This isn't snake oil, it's real, approved, prescription medications.

There's an ethical balance to be met in permitting those commercials. On the one hand, people shouldn't be trying to diagnose themselves or second-guessing their doctors based on the limited information provided in a commercial, but on the other hand, someone who has previously been diagnosed with a condition but for which there was previously no treatment should be kept informed if a new drug becomes available that can treat that condition, and the commercials will help prompt them to call their doctor to inquire about it. The reason the commercials are limited in what they can say is to help meet that balance.
 

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