Hello out there! Imagine you are watching your favorite movie on cable; you are left on a huge cliffhanger for about 10 minutes. Just as the heroine is about to profess her love to her interest the scene fades out and suddenly:
"Nexplanon! The birth control that goes into my arm."
You hear them prattle on about how it's so great and has 'prevented pregnancy for up to 2 years!'
...and then you hear the endless list of side effects that make you ask:
"How is this FDA approved?!"
The side effects can range from internal bleeding, weakened immune system and weight-loss, to the less 'fun' effects like depression, suicidal thoughts, or decreased fertility and rectal bleeding for some. (Not kidding!) All this just makes me wonder: "How?" How is someone going to take this medicine for one problem, and then wind up with a bunch of others. At this point it's like satire, and the subject of parody. Like this meme for example:
(Hahaha.)
This is something I actually was really curious about knowing, since it's something that stayed in the back of my mind for a while. So, let's find out, this will be a learning experience for the both of us.
When you take medicine, whether it's ibuprofen, hydrocortisone, or even something as simple as cough medicine, I'm sure you'd want everything to be approved as safe, correct? I definitely would. Those are medications that are being put on and, in my body, so you'd obviously want it to be approved for consumption or application, not having to risk your life every time you take it. While doing research for this topic, I have found out that this long list of possible symptoms are tied to how the medicines are approved and regulated.
According to Vox: "In the United States, companies need to warn people of all the potential risks of their drug, and advertise only the indication for which the drug has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. (Some drugs have multiple potential uses, but only one or two have been specifically sanctioned by the FDA. The unapproved uses are called "off-label" and can't be advertised.)"
I'm glad they actually tell you what'll happen if you consume or take the drug, unlike our food (Talking to you Skittles...) But despite this, there's still a couple of skeletons in the closet, like how drug companies are NOT required to tell you how they work, whether or not you'll have benefits from the drug/ be seriously harmed from it, the cost of the treatment, or if there are other options to be healthier instead of taking the advertised treatment.
This means that drug companies aren't required to tell you that their birth control drug will only decrease your chances of getting pregnant, not prevent it entirely, and the highly likely chance that you'll develop vaginitis, or nearly die because of a cold (the medication gave you a weakened immune system.🤦♀️)
The hilarious thing is that the FDA themselves have said that there are 'too many' warnings. The FDA is studying whether those warnings, in broadcast and print ads, overwhelm and confuse consumers. The agency says no one reads more than half of the fine print in drug ads, and of those who do, 55% say it's hard to understand.
The whole reason they put the entire Encyclopedia Britannica in a 5-minute commercial is actually quite simply, a tail-covering tactic, one that food companies in the U.S. use as well. They do this to prevent a lawsuit against them and their company. So, when someone's family member develops depression and kills themselves because of an 'anti-depressant' the company can say:
"The possible side effects are 'clearly' labeled and announced. "
(Despite the commercial's narrator sounding like an auctioneer...)
The ads aren't all bad of course, how else do you let people know what you're offering to counteract an illness in the age of television and smart phones? You advertise of course! But my question is: 'Who would buy these drugs?' Knowing that you might be risking your life, and causing other problems to rise instead of treating the original problem who would buy this? Why are they even open to the public if they might kill you by taking them?
Drug-specific ads fall into two main categories: product claim and reminder. A product claim ad names a drug, notes its generic name and the condition it treats, and talks about both benefits and risks in a balanced fashion. (It's common for any potential side effects to be described rapidly at the end or written in small type that makes it hard to read and comprehend.)
A reminder ad gives the drug's name, but not the drug's use. The assumption is that the audience already knows what the drug is for. This kind of ad does not contain risk information because it does not discuss the condition the drug treats or how well it works.
The ad blitz of expensive brand-name drugs is often cited as a factor for rising health care costs. Prescription drugs accounted for nearly 17% of total health care spending in 2015, up from about 7% in the 1990s before the revised FDA guidelines went into effect.
Did you know? The United States and New Zealand are the only countries where drug makers are allowed to market prescription drugs directly to consumers. Even though it's only in 2 specific regions, Americans experience more than two million side effects from drugs every year, and more than 100,000 people are killed from properly prescribed medications.
So, the conclusion we can take from this is, read the labels properly and do your research. I also wouldn't recommend taking these medicines, they might not end so well...
Well, now we've got our answers! I feel a bit refreshed that I got some answers now.
Thank you for reading everyone and have a good day🏙️/night🌃!
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Sources and Further Reading:
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