It wasn't too many years ago that the government forced the removal of cigarette advertising from television due to health hazards. Now maybe it's time to take a long hard look at drug ads.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, retail drug spending has seen a major increase due to drug companies advertising directly to the public. A new study by the National Institute for Health Care Management (a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that conducts research on health care issues) found that "25 of the most heavily advertised drugs accounted for more than 40 percent of the increase in retail drug spending last year."

The study disclosed that spending on consumer advertising went from $1.3 billion in 1998 to $1.8 billion in 1999. This resulted in an increase in consumer spending for retail drugs from $93.4 billion in 1998 to $111.1 billion in 1999. Consumer advertising of drug products has been made possible since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) relaxed the rules on direct marketing of prescription drugs to consumers in 1997.

The New York Times article went on to note, "The study did not discuss the accuracy of drug advertising. But in the last three years, the government has repeatedly reprimanded drug companies after finding false or misleading claims in TV commercials and magazine advertisements."

The article concluded, "The FDA has admonished companies about commercials advertising drugs for allergies, asthma, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, hair loss and sexually transmitted diseases, among others. In many cases, the government said, the advertisements violated the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act because they overstated the benefits of a particular drug, minimized the risks or falsely suggested that one drug was superior to another. The FDA also found that many companies had been promoting their drugs for uses not approved by the government."

Aspirin, Acetaminophen May Prolong The Flu

According to research by Karen I. Plaisance, MD, and Philip A. Mackowiak, MD, as published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, taking aspirin or similar drugs to decrease a fever will increase the duration of the flu.

For many years, it was common practice to treat the fever of flu by taking aspirin and thereby reducing the fever. This new research has confirmed what chiropractors and others have been saying for years, however. Fever is a defense mechanism designed to help the immune system by raising body temperature.

Several studies have revealed that flu sufferers who took anti-fever medications were sick an average of 3.5 days longer than people who did not take any of the drugs. According to Dr. Karen Plaisance, "The extra sick days may be an acceptable trade-off for the relief they get from such medications… Some busy people would rather be somewhat sick for a longer time than be nearly wiped out for a shorter period."

Investigators have found that anti-fever drugs such as aspirin or Tylenol prolonged the duration of the flu. On average, flu symptoms lasted 5.3 days in participants who did not take aspirin or acetaminophen compared with 8.8 days in people who took the anti-fever drugs.

Even in an analysis that took into account the severity of illness, the use of anti-fever drugs was still linked to longer-lasting illness. According to the authors, the mechanism that links the drugs to prolonged flu symptoms is unclear. However, reducing fever may interfere with the immune system's response to infection. In other studies on reducing fever, similar findings were reported in cases of chickenpox.

The underlying message of these studies suggest that interfering with the defense mechanisms of the body -- such as fever -- may reduce some symptoms but will prolong the time the body needs to fight off infections and illness.

Contributed by Dr. Jim Pizzadilli from his web site www.pizzadillichiropractic.com
Dr. Pizzadilli can be reached at 272-6299.