Could you send me a link to the Ellsworth American blog?

I am flattered that you thought it was that good.

Re: my email…I have a link on my about page, but based on your comment, I added a text widget.

Thanks for the suggestion.

We have to pay for our drugs in Canada.

But our doctors receive the same pharmaceutical training as yours – their drug reps.

So I definitely see a time when our docs will prescribe Cresor or Lipitor or whatever-Tor as a preventative.

I have a new client whom I sent to his doc because I suspected high blood pressure. When the doc told him he had high bp, the prescription pad came out and he left with a script for a beta blocker.

No mention of any lifestyle change

There’s an asthma drug ad running on U.S. television now, including the statement, “Use of this product has been associated with increased risk of death from asthma.” [I'm paraphrasing, but I kid you not.]

I assume Canadians have socialized medicine. It will be interesting to see if Canadian doctors will be able to prescribe Crestor for healthy adults with normal cholesterol levels but elevated C-reactive protein, as in the study at hand. I tend to doubt it, unless Big Pharma has undue influence with Canadian policy-makers.

If I want to spend $2,500 (US) every two years on a pill that has a less than a 1% chance of preventing my stroke, heart attack, or death over two years, that’s my business. But I’m not going to ask my fellow citizens or anyone else to pay for it.

By the way, I wouldn’t spend it. I would focus on healthy lifestyle choices and the Mediterranean diet.

-Steve

Only two countries allow such advertising, New Zealand and the United States. However, three major consultations on the possibility of introducing DTCA have been held in Canada since 1996.

Although no new legislation has been introduced,
important shifts in the interpretation of the law have occurred, contributing to an increasing
volume of made-in-Canada advertising.

In addition, Canadian exposure to prescription drug advertising in US media has grown enormously since 1997, when a shift in US regulatory policy facilitated the broadcast of such ads. The pharmaceutical industry spent more than $4 billion on DTCA in the US in 2004.

DTCA is prohibited under two provisions in Canada’s Food and Drugs Act, which is enforced
by Health Canada. Despite this prohibition, Health Canada currently allows two forms of
advertising:
• Reminder ads: these include only the brand name and no health claims or hints about
the product’s use.

Canadian VIAGRA commercial

No risk information is required.

In the US, reminder ads are prohibited for products with “black box” warnings of serious risks on their label.

• Disease-oriented or help-seeking ads: these do not mention a specific brand but discuss a condition and suggest consumers ask their doctor about an unspecified treatment.

No risk information is required.

In the US, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also recognizes a third type – full
product ads. These are permitted to include the brand name and health claims and must by
law include risk information.

U.S. VIAGRA commercial</strong>