Ask your doctor if political ads are good for your health

by Jim Hamilton, Florence

I’d like to comment on the unrestrained pharmaceutical and political promotions that currently appear on TV all day and night. I worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 25 years and I remember when drug promotion direct to health care professionals, shifted to Direct to Consumer (DTC) advertising. Physicians hated this kind of remote sales because the TV promotion never mentioned cost of the product, why you needed it in the first place and minimized the side effects. Just “Ask Your Doctor” if you need this medicine was the key closing statement, just as it is today. The answer is usually NO.

Watching the political ads every day will give you a need for medication. Both partisan sides have worn out their key message this early in the summer: The Democrat Senate candidate is overweight, has a crewcut and isn’t a true Patriot. But he grew up in Montana, taught school here and lives on a farm near Great Falls. The Republican candidate is a hunky, retired Navy Frogman and War Hero with more medals than he can show on TV. He went to private schools, comes from a rich family in Minnesota and is friends with Montana money-makers Ryan Zinke and Greg Gianforte. 

So where is all the advertising money going? To redundant garbage promotions that don’t provide any useful information on why Montana citizens should vote for a particular candidate. Now I’m forced to carry my TV remote around with me so I can press the “MUTE” button whenever I hear a drug or political ad start. If I press the wrong button, I’ll sometimes get a commercial on how to get rid of my time-share bungalow in Tijuana followed by a pharmaceutical ad.