Watch this compelling video about how marketers target your children.
See also: “Warning! Dora The Explorer May Be Dangerous To Your Children’s Health”
Commercializing kids: marketing to the tiniest consumers
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Monthly Archives: February 2010
Top 10 most misleading drug ads
Forbes ran an interesting piece last month on the fine line in Big Pharma between promoting a new drug and presenting a misleading picture of its risk and benefits. In fact, the American Food & Drug Administration regularly singles out drug companies that use questionable language to imply or suggest their drug is superior to similar treatments, and watches closely for the omission of dangerous risk and side effect information. Forbes recently ran an online slide show of the 10 most misleading drug ads that have been slapped with FDA warning letters.
For example, actress Brooke Shields is the spokeswoman for Latisse, a prescription eyelash thickening agent. Yes, there is such a thing. In September 2009, the FDA went after Latisse’s maker, Allergan, for a website that downplayed the drug’s serious risks which include cornea infections, hair growth outside of the treatment area, and permanent darkening of eye color.
Cleveland Clinic cardiologist Dr. Steven Nissen, who is a fierce critic of drug ads, observed:
“It’s almost impossible for the public to actually parse the ads and come to their own independent conclusions.”
But Dr. Nissen is suspicious of most drugs that are advertised because he thinks that the marketing campaigns distract and mislead consumers. His advice: avoid the most heavily advertised drugs and stick to generics. Continue reading
Harvard’s ethical ultimatum to doc: give up Big Pharma moonlighting jobs, or lose Harvard teaching post
Boston physician Dr. Lawrence DuBuske was given a choice: either stop moonlighting as a paid speaker for pharmaceutical companies, or quit your job at a top Harvard University teaching hospital. To the surprise of some, DuBuske, an allergy and asthma specialist, will resign from Brigham and Women’s Hospital after two decades there, the hospital told the Boston Globe last month. As a result, Harvard will also terminate his appointment.
DuBuske (that’s him on the left with his Ukrainian-born wife Ilona, who coincidentally works for DuBuske’s home-based Immunology Research Institute of New England) is no ordinary speaker. Out of thousands of doctors hired by drug giant GlaxoSmithKline to help market its products, he was the highest paid during a three-month period last year, according to GSK disclosure statements. He made $99,375 for giving 40 talks to other physicians last April, May, and June. That’s almost one every other day.
DuBuske seems to be everywhere, with recent speaking stops spread from Boston to Buenos Aires, Poland, and Russia. Six other pharmaceutical companies also use him as a speaker, and he is a consultant for a half dozen drugmakers, according to information he disclosed while teaching continuing medical education courses.
The disclosures did not mention how much he was paid for all this other work. It does make one wonder how on earth does he have any time left over to be a real doctor? Continue reading
Why the Olympics are bad business
I am outnumbered. I am one of the few people I know who are anti-Olympics. I say this with a wee pang of sadness because I used to be a bit of a Games Junkie, having spent years working with the organizing committee when my own city of Victoria hosted the Commonwealth Games here in 1994. But the world has changed since then. Doping scandals, corporate sponsorship bullying, pervasive commercialism, anti-terrorist security, political interference, questionable IOC integrity, and obscene taxpayer-funded pricetags combine to make me shake my head and ask:
“Why are we doing this?”
The event is no longer even about athletic achievement. We already hold world championships in each sport for that. Continue reading
