"FOUR HOUR ERECTION" ENEMY NUMBER ONEWASHINGTON, DC – The Food and Drug Administration today ordered the end to what it calls “side-effects hyping” by the nation’s pharmaceutical companies. “It’s the old ‘Jeckyll and Hyde’ syndrome,” explained FDA Director Dr. Noah Swayne. “Make something seem exciting and bad, and people naturally gravitate toward it.”
What Swayne is referring to are those warnings about medications causing other problems such as dizziness or nausea, delivered in a stylish, inviting manner at the end of the ad. "When people hear that the drug can do all these dangerous things," Swayne explained, "they conclude that it must be really powerful, that it works, so of course they want it." Swayne said that over the years the drug companies have gone to great lengths to invent these thrilling side effects to boost sales, but the practice has gotten out of hand.
It's no coincidence, Swayne said, that the number one selling prescription drug in the country is a treatment for impotence. “One of the supposed dangerous side effects is that it may cause a four hour erection and you should call your doctor if it happens,” said Swayne, “Now, come on! Every guy hears that and says 'Now that's the kind of dangerous side effect I want.' And by the way, we have no record of any doctor every being called. Obviously, if you're fortunate enough to have such a side effect, your doctor is the last person you're going to call.”
What Swayne is referring to are those warnings about medications causing other problems such as dizziness or nausea, delivered in a stylish, inviting manner at the end of the ad. "When people hear that the drug can do all these dangerous things," Swayne explained, "they conclude that it must be really powerful, that it works, so of course they want it." Swayne said that over the years the drug companies have gone to great lengths to invent these thrilling side effects to boost sales, but the practice has gotten out of hand.
It's no coincidence, Swayne said, that the number one selling prescription drug in the country is a treatment for impotence. “One of the supposed dangerous side effects is that it may cause a four hour erection and you should call your doctor if it happens,” said Swayne, “Now, come on! Every guy hears that and says 'Now that's the kind of dangerous side effect I want.' And by the way, we have no record of any doctor every being called. Obviously, if you're fortunate enough to have such a side effect, your doctor is the last person you're going to call.”
