If you've stayed tuned in for commercial breaks during your favorite primetime show in recent years, then it is safe to assume that you have probably, on more than one occasion, caught a commercial for a popular osteoporosis pill, touted by Sally Field.
What she doesn't say -- and many consumers may not realize -- is that oral bisphosphonates (osteoporosis pills) have been linked to numerous side effects, including femur fractures and osteonecrosis or "dead jaw" syndrome. Just Thursday, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced it would investigate claims that these medications increased the risk of throat cancer as well.
In 2010, the FDA ordered oral bisphosphonates manufacturers to include a warning label to alert patients to the risk of femur fractures, after studies linked the drugs to two rare types of thigh fractures, known as subtrochanteric and diaphyseal femur fracture -- nevertheless, persuasive ads remained on the air.
Osteoporosis medications are not the only pharmaceutical drugs whose ads have warranted FDA mandated-warnings in recent years.
Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals launched the multi-million dollar ad campaign -- at the insistence of the FDA and 27 attorneys general -- after original ads for Yaz oral contraceptives were deemed misleading. The commercials, punctuated by the tagline "beyond birth control" not only downplayed the severe health risks but, according to the FDA, suggested that Yaz was for women with PMS, who in actuality "may not be appropriate candidates for the drug."
While the FDA often requires drug manufacturers to pull deceptive ads, it's quite rare to mandate an on-air correction. As part of a lawsuit settlement, Bayer is also required to submit all Yaz ads for federal screening before they air. Perhaps the popularity of the product (according to The New York Times, Yaz grossed sales of more than $616 million in 2007) and the severity of potential health hazards compelled the FDA to take these measures.
But for the thousands of women who have suffered the side effects, it's too little, too late. Those commercials should never have been approved for air in the first place.
In an age when tiny inserts in prescription packaging have largely replaced one-on-one pharmacist consultations, pharmaceutical ads are becoming a primary source of risk information for many patients. Therefore, it is up to regulators to ensure that dangerous drugs are kept off the airwaves -- as well as off the shelves.
The use of clever marketing to mask the potential risks of popular products is a universal issue. Proctor & Gamble has recently come under fire for similar misinformation around the widely-used denture cream Fixodent.
Approximately 35 million Americans wear dentures and many of them use Fixodent, made famous by the memorable tagline "Fixodent. And Forget It." What the manufacturer failed to disclose is that this adhesive contains zinc, which when absorbed in high amounts can lead to zinc poisoning - a condition that affects the nervous system and sometimes leads to death.
For years Fixodent and other zinc-laden denture adhesives were sold without adequate warning labels. It wasn't until 2009, after studies linking denture cream to zinc poisoning were made public, that the manufacturer added warning labels to Fixodent packages vaguely cautioning that "prolonged zinc intake may be linked to adverse health effects." Failure to properly warn millions of American denture cream users has left many with permanent nerve damage, wheelchair bound and unable to work.
Drug companies have pumped billions of dollars into ad campaigns in recent years for one simple reason: they work. The majority of consumers base their product choices on what they recognize from commercials, and most patients report being prescribed the specific brand-name drugs they request from their doctor.
This is where government oversight becomes crucial.
Regulators must do more than pull spots and mandate corrections when pharmaceutical ads are determined to be inaccurate -- at that point the damage is done. Instead the FDA must tighten regulations on pharmaceutical ads, monitoring accuracy as well as tone, before they're ever approved. It could literally save lives.
Follow Jerrold S. Parker on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@jerryparkeresq
Target: Procter and Gamble, Sanofi Aventis, Warner Chilcott, FDA, President Obama, Hillary Clinton
Sponsored by: Brenda Kidd
Tell the FDA: Actonel and all other Bisphosphonates cause different types of Cancer, such as, Esophagus Cancer and surgeries, as well as, Femur Fractures, life threatening side effects and deaths in humans and animals.
The FDA must take Bisphosphonates off the market.
Stand up to harmful dangerous toxic chemical Bisphosphonates Drugs that dates back to the 1800’s…Osteoporosis Drugs claim to cure or prevent Osteoporosis, cause cancer of the esophagus, stomach, lungs, breast, liver, and varies other cancers.
They also cause broken bones, femur fractures, thigh pain, osteonecrosis of the jaw known, as phossy jaw, ulcers, gastrointestinal problems, bleeding from the rectum, black tarry bloody stools, swelling around the neck, swelling under the eyes, spots on the lungs and tumors in the liver. These are not all the side effect from Actonel Risedronate sodium and all other Bisphosphonates.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-population-stand-up-to-dangerous-toxic-chemic.html
http://standuptoharmfuldangeroustoxicdrugs.blogspot.com/
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/save-the-population/
Fact: Actonel and all other Bisphosphonates cause life threatening side effects, including deaths in Humans and Animals.
ear iritation. You will likely not get a cold.
Now I take B complex. No more gout.
Prescription drugs for underactive thyroid in almost all cases.
It won't hurt you to try it. You will likely be shocked with the results..
You are probably being lied to.
Coming to our senses about this, is part of health care reform if we really mean it, which I seriously doubt. Reason? The people at the helm have free, full health insurance and are feeling no pain---
prescription drugs. To follow doctors orders who march to the tune of the Pharmaseutical
companies will provide you with constant Lab fee, tests, office visits, and presceiptions
but never a cure.
I never got healthy until I got off of that system. The wealthy are dumbly not healthy.
They have money to be made by that system and are victims of it.
Poetic Justice in most cases.
Thanks !
·You claim that prescription drug accidental death was the #2 cause of death in the US.
·The link you provide first says that accidental prescription drug overdoses surpassed car accidents as the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths, then goes on to say that in other words it's the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths
The 2009 leading causes of death in the US preliminary report (the most recent data available) names the top causes of death in the US as follows:
1.Diseases of heart .............................................................598,607
2.Malignant neoplasms ........................................................568,668
3.Chronic lower respiratory diseases .................................137,082
4.Cerebrovascular diseases ................................................128,603
5.Accidents (unintentional injuries) ..................................117,176*
6.Alzheimer’s disease........................................................78,889
7.Diabetes mellitus ................................................................68,504
8.Influenza and pneumonia ..................................................53,582
9.Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis ..................48,714
10.Intentional self-harm (suicide) ..........................................36,547
11.Septicemia ..............................................................................35,587
12.Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis .....................................30,444
13.Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease ...25,651
14.Parkinson’s disease ...............................................................20,552
15.Assault (homicide)..................................................................16,591
*This would be the total number of accidental drug overdoses of all kinds AND car accidents, falling off ladders et cetera