EDIT: And another thing: you guys don't even have affordable health care, so people see this shit they blatantly can't afford advertised at them relentlessly. That's why spam is so lucrative I guess: huge demand built for something virtually no-one can afford.
That's not true, because most people do have insurance. The major problem is that the costs are socialized by insurance, so people buy excessive healthcare because then can afford it (they aren't paying).
There are other countries where everybody has insurance and the government negotiates medical prices. Japan, Germany, and France are three examples. They have much lower costs than the U.S. and the best health outcomes in the world, measured on criteria like death rates after diagnosis of major disease.
Source: Healing America by T.R. Reid.
And Japan, for example, has an aging population of heavy smokers.
Yes, this is the true culture of America. Blind acceptance and worship of capitalism.
Research has found that 80% of over the counter and 60% of prescription drug ads are misleading or false.[1] ED mediations are one of the top offenders in false advertising in the study.
1. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/study-finds-most-d...
One of the repeat offenders, said Faerber, were erectile dysfunction drugs. “The various drug companies phrase it differently, but they all play on the idea of being “ready” when the moment is right,” but Faerber said readiness is about more than a physical reaction, it’s an emotional state – especially where sex is concerned. “They implied more than a physiological response.”
Honestly though, it's a good system. I can't actually tell you what brand that ad is for, but I do know that I can talk to my doctor about it if I have issues with PE!
Also, I imagine that the cost of making and running the commercial would be pretty trivial compared to the profits to be made from the sale of the product.
Your point is well-taken for individuals who don't fall in epidemiological categories (a 20-something is less likely to be asked about sexual dysfunction than a 60 year-old). Still, questions about sexual function are standard medical history questions.
Education about the availability of drugs can be performed by disease foundations - indeed, disease foundations underwrite the most risky part of drug discovery, the basic research component. For more common disorders, hospitals, the CDC, the NIH and even Google are beginning to provide digestible information that highlight standard treatments. In our web era, the importance of TV advertising for disease education is likely less than it might have been in the 80s.
There is an argument to be made for consumer advertising for a drug like Viagra. Without awareness that an effective treatment exists, patients with ED or another embarrassing condition are not likely to bring it up with their doctor on their own, thus resulting in unnecessary suffering.
Another argument is that for various reasons some patients are unlikely to seek a second opinion, even when one is warranted. Consumer advertising is a way to present alternative treatment options to a patient whose doctor will not.