Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2001. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, May 1, 2001
Many of the ads are irritating to doctors and HMOs, who patients are now pressuring to prescribe a certain drug when others may be available with less onerous side effects or a lower cost.
At the very least, such advertisements should be forthright -- especially when the stakes are as high as they are in the use of medicines to suppress the human immunodeficiency virus that causes AIDS.
These ads, featuring buffed men in vigorous outdoor activities, give the distinctly false impression that there are magical drugs that make living with HIV a breeze. It is not. The drugs are expensive, they come with uncomfortable side effects and they require an unforgiving regimen of steady dosages.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, bowing to complaints from San Francisco activists worried about the trivialization of AIDS and the importance of safe- sex messages, has ordered the drugmakers to stop such overtly misleading advertising. It was a good move by the FDA.
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Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2001. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
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