Responsible advertising

Indianapolis is home to one of the biggest drug companies in the country: Eli Lilly and Company.

But even though Lilly’s presence is a huge benefit to the city, there are some ways in which Lilly and its competitors cross the line.

Specifically with their drug advertising.

Lilly does important work; and to get the money it needs for research, the “lesser” drugs need to bring in the big bucks — that requires people using them.

And what better way to get the word out than to tell people about it?

The thing is, advertising doesn’t inform people about medicines as well as a doctor can. And with the large percent of medical mistakes that are made, it’s important patients fully discuss with their doctors any drugs and their potential side effects.

Just because a drug is supposed to treat a certain condition doesn’t mean it’s right for everyone.

People who see commercials full of happy and carefree people, who have supposedly reached that emotional state by taking whatever it is the commercial is hawking, go to their doctors and specifically ask for it. It takes out the doctor’s professional opinion.

Granted, doctors who give patients whatever medicine they want without fully discussing options are equally at fault. But the advertisers aren’t doing the right thing, either.

Though it’s easier to connect directly to patients, who often don’t have the necessary knowledge to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong for them, drug companies should be reaching out to the doctors.

The doctors are the ones who can really determine what’s right and what’s wrong for their patients.

Drug companies have their pocketbooks and their own needs foremost on their minds. While it’s understandable — and not unusual — in an industry that deals with peoples’ health, companies need to be more careful. There’s too much at stake.

Consumers need to be more careful, too. Advertisements are aimed at selling the meds. They don’t discuss everything: potential side effects, why people with certain conditions should take them, etc.

They don’t present a realistic view of who should be taking a drug. Only a doctor can really make that determination.

But it’s hard to educate the general populace as people fall victim to ads. Yet, the advertisers know that. That’s how they sell products.

So, while people should take responsibility for doing research before they decide they want medicine, some responsibility falls on the advertisers themselves to present a realistic view of their product — or better yet, to market to the right people.

All three groups are at fault: Companies market their drugs directly to consumers, consumers don’t do their research and doctors sometimes give patients the drug they request rather than following their own instincts.

Everyone in this cycle needs to take responsibility for their actions, but it has to start somewhere. And what better place to start than with the people who make the product?

­— hanns@indiana.edu