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Bextra and Vioxx Withdrawal Spawn Advertising Pause from Bristol Myers
Pharmaceutical giant Bristol Myers Squibb has announced that they will suspend direct-to-consumer advertising for their prescription drug products for a year. This comes in the wake of the well-publicized withdrawals of Merck's Vioxx and Pfizer's Bextra, two non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that were voluntarily withdrawn from the market recently. Studies showed that they increase the likelihood of strokes and heart attacks among patients that take them for prolonged periods of time. This represents an unusual move for a pharmaceutical company, as they tend to spend a large portion of their annual advertising budget on direct-to-consumer advertising. It is possible that Bristol Myers recognizes that consumers are becoming concerned about new drugs being approved by the FDA and advertised heavily, only to find out later that the drugs have previously unknown and possibly dangerous side effects. Consumers have learned that advertising a drug as "new and improved" doesn't necessarily mean that it is new, or improved, or even safe. In short, customers are suspicious of pharmaceutical advertising, and the drug companies are to be commended for taking notice of that fact. Since 1997, drug companies have been allowed by U.S. law to advertise directly to consumers. This has led to an astonishing number of ads on television and radio, as consumers see ads showing one happy person after another. The ads suggest that the happiness shown is a result of the use of the product, and a voiceover quickly mumbles through the known, and sometimes lengthy, list of side effects. Patients are encouraged to speak with their doctor, and they have been doing so in record numbers. The problem, as Bristol Myers know realizes, is that consumers are well aware that the withdrawn Bextra and Vioxx were advertised as being safe. This has naturally led to a general suspicion of all advertised drugs, and Bristol Myers correctly sees that they could be the victims of a drug-company backlash, even if they did not manufacture any of the withdrawn products. This will probably save Bristol Myers a lot of money in the short term, as their advertising would have largely gone to waste. The Food and Drug Administration is taking steps to make sure that the drugs that reach the U.S. market are safe, and in time, the public will again become more trusting of pharmaceutical advertising. In the meantime, TV viewers will be spared from having to watch the sometimes-cryptic drug ads, which often prompt questions of "What does this drug do?" ©Copyright 2005 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including Bextra-Info.net, a site devoted to the withdrawn drug Bextra and StructuredSettlementHelp.com, a site devoted to structured settlements.
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Alternative Medicine How To Medically Treat Nail Fungus Warning: This article is for information only and can not be used to supplement your doctor's advice. You should contact your doctor for nail fungus treatment. Alzheimers Toxin May Be Key To Slowing Disease Australian scientists say they have identified a toxin which plays a key role in the onset of Alzheimer's, raising hope that a drug targeting the toxin could be developed to slow the degenerative brain disease. Cholesterol Prescription Medications Can Kill You While there are numerous options for people to lower cholesterol naturally, thousands and thousands of people are taking prescription medication to lower cholesterol risking some very dangerous side effects. New Antidepressant Developments and Approvals New antidepressant development, until fairly recently, was at best a random, and at worst a problematic and frustrating, process. 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Rogue Online Pharmacies: The Internet War Of 2005 Online Pharmacy owners who haven't been working within moral and governmental regulations are in for the ride of their lives. In past months, many of these so called "rogue pharmacies" have either voluntarily shut down or been closed by the powers that be. However, the major illegitimate players have been unable to cover their tracks, and some have been outright irresponsible. Phentermine Diet Pills: When Diet and Exercise Arent Enough To Help You Lose Weight Have you been struggling to lose weight, but diet and exercise aren't giving you the results you need to be healthy? Are you sick of people telling you that you could lose weight if only you had the will-power? It may be time to ask a physician about a phentermine prescription. Curing Lou Gehrigs Disease ALS is the disease that took the life of the famed baseball player. The disease benched Lou Gehrig from the game that he loved and later took his life. Now, ALS is referred to as the Lou Gehrig's disease. Today more than fifty years later there still is no cure for ALS. ALS is a motor neuron disease. ALS stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. The disease attacks nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It attacks a persons muscles one at a time. Not unlike being tortured. Sadly there is no cure and no viable treatment. You Are Getting Very Sleepy....The Truth about Hypnosis A hypnotic "trance" is not something that is foreign to us--we've all been so absorbed in thought while reading a book or watching a movie that we fail to notice what is happening around us. These focused states of attention are similar to hypnosis. Simply put, when our minds are concentrated and focused, we are able to use them more powerfully. In this condition, we can tap into normally unused mental powers to create new possibilities of experience. 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The pain usually gets worse with use of the affected joint. However, when tendonitis becomes severe, there may be pain at rest. Cetyl Myristoleate Seperating Fact From Fiction I am a strong believer in Cetyl Myristoleate for the treatment of arthritis. For the last three years I have been researching and writing about Cetyl Myristoleate. I am constantly searching for new research and contact and interview every doctor I can find that works with it. The purpose of the article is to evaluate the claims made about Cetyl Myristoleate on the myriad of web sites that sell it. It you want more information on the research that documents the effectiveness of Cetyl Myristoleate then do a search for my article, "Cetyl Myristoleate: Science or Speculation". Ooohhh my aching knee!!! Insider Secrets on How You Can Get Relief Quickly and Easily! When your knee hurts, getting relief is all that's on your mind. Getting the right relief, though, depends on knowing what's wrong. The correct diagnosis will lead to the correct treatment. Top Ten Reasons Why We Hate IBS! Irritable bowel syndrome can be a nightmare?constant diarrhea and terrible stomach pains, or unbelievable constipation and never-ending gas. While it's good to stay positive and keep looking for help, sometimes it's even better to just have a good old moan! VIOXX Lawsuits Vioxx is a prescription medication that has been used primarily in the treatment of signs and symptoms of arthritis, but has also been prescribed to treat acute pain in adults and menstrual pain in women. It is a Cox-2 selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug or NSAID. Other Cox -2 selective NSAIDs on the market are Celebrex and Bextra. Vioxx is also related to nonselective NSAIDs such as ibuprofen and naproxen. Stem Cell Breakthrough: Can You Now Make Your Own? Over the past few years, stem cells have been getting a lot of attention. What makes them so interesting is their ability to stimulate the production of many types of healthy cells. That means that a single stem cell can turn itself into brain cells, liver cells, skin cells, pancreas cells, and so on.
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