Drugs, Drugs, Drugs

Another question that was asked by the transition team during the community health discussion was "How can public policy promote healthier lifestyles?"

A lot of the comments to this question dealt with our reliance on prescription drugs. Some people told stories about how attractive drugs have become when they are advertised on TV and magazines. Drug advertisements have made prescription drugs a more appealing solution for medical care. People are able to walk into the doctor's office and immediately tell the doctor, "this is my problem, I'd like to try _____." It is obvious that more people in our society are turning to drugs to resolve many of their health issues, thinking that prescription drugs are an easy solution to their medical problems.

Drug advertisements can exaggerate health problems that are really not that major to begin with. For example, restless leg syndrome was a health issue that few people reported having prior to massive advertisements by drug companies.

The numbers speak clearly: Pharmaceutical sales have risen in the US to over $735 billion a year. Sociological researcher, Simon Williams, wrote an article discussing the major reasons why pharmaceuticals drugs have become so common in our nation. One central factor regards how the role of some drug companies has shifted from treating medical diseases to manufacturing and emphasizing diseases. In collaboration with doctors, medical groups, and the media, drug companies have a strong ability to create attention to certain diseases. Drug companies are not just marketing treatment, but also diseases. Williams refers to this as "pharmaceuticalization" of medicine -- the process in which drug companies are able to turn some things into medical matters. Pharmaceutical companies have gotten to the point where they have gained some medical authority and are viewed as contributors to medical knowledge in our society. They now advise us about what diseases we might have and that we should ask our doctor about possible prescriptions. Furthermore, drug companies are able to target and advertise to specific groups to make in-roads and personalize the medicine for them. Overall, pharmaceutical companies have gained more medical power in our society as well as becoming more effective at selling their product.

Another researcher, Nick Fox, talked about the domestication of pharmaceutical consumption in our society. He notes that drug products are now much more available and easier to purchases because of the internet. Direct-to-consumer marketing has benefited drug companies since they are able to give consumers a one-stop shopping experience for consumers. Consumers are able to get all of their information about diseases and drugs online, while also being able to fills prescriptions, get discounts, and have medicine shipped to their front door. Purchasing prescriptions has become a shipping experience that the drug companies have control over. This is why many drug companies use "lifestyle marketing" to promote their products.

It has now become part of our lifestyle to use drugs for all sorts of health problems--to help our sex lives, control our diet, alleviate daily allergies, and help us sleep. Drugs have become the solution to our annoying lifestyle factors, such as lack of sleep. As drug companies infuse their product into our daily lives, people's attitudes towards drugs have changed as more people are viewing drugs as simple solutions to health and lifestyle issues. Many believe that this is a result of skillful marketing.

Interestingly, historians of medicine are able to show how diseases appear and disappear based on social processes and treatments available in a given society. Drug companies keep lobbying for new disease categories to help sell their treatments. More lifestyle ailments that were once considered non-health related are now in the medical domain as a result of some of the efforts by pharmaceutical companies. Now there are more drugs that are found for a variety of lifestyle issues, which has led to a domestication of pharmaceutical consumption.

Drug companies have been criticized for seeking to market pills towards diseases that will give them the most profit, rather than focusing on developing treatments for major illnesses. Our reliance on prescription drugs can cause people to ignore healthier solutions to some of their health issues.