Behold the very first prescription drug ad to air on American television, way back in 1981. It was for a pain relief medicine called Rufen, and its manufacturer, Boots Pharmaceuticals, wanted to explain to consumers that this was the same stuff as Motrin but a lot cheaper. (Both were ibuprofen, which was not yet over-the-counter.) Going on air to tell us this was an entirely reasonable thing for a drug company to do.
But prescription drug ads very quickly stopped being a force for good and instead became a way to con consumers. An amazingly high proportion of drugs advertised on TV—two-thirds according to one study—have low therapeutic value. They should be banned! I was around during the 1960s and 1970s, before prescription drug ads were on TV, and we all managed just fine without them. Better, in fact.
My only hesitation for saying this is that I’m more or less endorsing a policy of the Trump administration, dreamed up by its Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, who is otherwise, so far as I can tell, a dangerous nut. But he’s right about this! You can read my New Republic piece saying so here.