Morgan BellMarketing magic
April 2nd 2006 14:41
It’s always too much, or too little, and never just enough. While “workaholism” may be a problem for some, one in five Australians lie at other end of the motivational spectrum and may suffer from extreme laziness … now a disorder diagnosed at a psychologist near you!
As Ray Moynihan bluntly put it, “there is a lot of money to be made telling healthy people they are sick”. Disease mongering is a highly unethical marketing strategy that will be discussed at length at a conference at the University of Newcastle next week.
Nearly 4 million Americans are being diagnosed with ADHD by family doctors with little expertise in the condition. The prescribed drugs are stimulants that may cause hallucinations and lead to drug dependency with continued use.
Meanwhile, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication to the Food and Drug Administration is claiming that the public is being swarmed with drug advertisements that “over-warn and under-inform”. The Coalition, which comprises of members from the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Healthcare Marketing and Communications Council and Public Relations Society of America, is petitioning for standard warnings stating that all drugs have potential risks and benefits, claiming that most of the general public "will lack the education or background to comprehend or act on” relevant information anyway.
In a 2003 research paper, Dr Gary Null et al estimated close to a million deaths in the US each year that he blames on medical intervention. While this figure is rather heavily based on presumptions, it certainly does lead one to question our enthusiasm and reliance on drugs and machines as the “miracles” of modern science.
Then again, what else is there to do, now that we know that prayers are no help either?
As Ray Moynihan bluntly put it, “there is a lot of money to be made telling healthy people they are sick”. Disease mongering is a highly unethical marketing strategy that will be discussed at length at a conference at the University of Newcastle next week.
Nearly 4 million Americans are being diagnosed with ADHD by family doctors with little expertise in the condition. The prescribed drugs are stimulants that may cause hallucinations and lead to drug dependency with continued use.
Meanwhile, the Coalition for Healthcare Communication to the Food and Drug Administration is claiming that the public is being swarmed with drug advertisements that “over-warn and under-inform”. The Coalition, which comprises of members from the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Healthcare Marketing and Communications Council and Public Relations Society of America, is petitioning for standard warnings stating that all drugs have potential risks and benefits, claiming that most of the general public "will lack the education or background to comprehend or act on” relevant information anyway.
In a 2003 research paper, Dr Gary Null et al estimated close to a million deaths in the US each year that he blames on medical intervention. While this figure is rather heavily based on presumptions, it certainly does lead one to question our enthusiasm and reliance on drugs and machines as the “miracles” of modern science.
Then again, what else is there to do, now that we know that prayers are no help either?
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Comment by Matt
Comment by liz
i made up a religion once just so i could get out of sport at school..
thanks for the link!