As a physician, I am often dismayed and sometimes amused by medication commercials. Usually delivered by attractive, healthy-looking individuals, at times in the company of cartoon characters, the information is, in my opinion, better delivered in one's doctor's office.
Always combined with a relatively quiet but obsessively long list of possible side effects (usually including death), details about the product are superficial in nature, despite the fact that they are powerful chemical agents. More amusing is the advice to "let your doctor know" if you have cancer, ALS, HIV, heart problems or some other chronic, serious condition; one wonders why your doctor would not be aware of your medical history.
Brief medical commercials making the public aware of new therapies are appropriate, including the advice to discuss their possible use with their physician. Beyond that public service, the escalating presence of drug use encouragement on TV is worrisome.
