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Editorial: Commercials or Programs?
While growing up in the 50s and 60s, television commercials were about one to two minutes in length during a 30-minute program. So a 30-minute program was about 28 minutes in length.
Today, commercials seem to be about six to ten minutes in length, which makes a scheduled 30-minute program only 20 to 24 minutes in length. Interestingly, with some movies, it may go for about 10 to 15 minutes and then an uninterrupted string of up to 4 entire minutes of commercials before the program returns.
Is this bad or is it acceptable? On the downside, there are far too many interruptions in the programs, which is nuisance. Also, it seems the same commercials run over and over and over and over. Moreover, when you subscribe to cable or satellite services, you want programming, not advertising. On the upside, it is nice to have a break now and then to do whatever needs to be done�but it also may contribute to more opportunities for snacking and eating since you don't want to set through commercials you have already seen many times (How many times can you stand watching them yell to "Marcel, look at this!"?). So, in a sense, are these commercials contributing to the overweight problem in the U.S.? And then there are those commercials that you have a difficult time understanding what product was actually being advertised.
Sports events are no different. We have all seen the impact of commercials on games where the games are actually held up until the commercials are over. Sometimes it makes you wonder if there is an impact on the momentum of one side or the other when there is "time out for news from our sponsor."
I guess it's a way of life now, but, before long, we may have 20 minutes of commercials and a 10-minute program or movie. A 60-minute football game may last 7 hours and our news/weather/sports may be limited to 5 minutes for each topic and the rest of the time will be commercials.
It looks like the old saying that "love makes the world go round" is being changed to "money/commercials makes the world go round." I keep questioning all this, but I'm told that this is "progress"! Maybe so, but sometimes I think it would be nice to "regress."
Loyd V. Allen, Jr., Ph.D., R.Ph.
Editor-in-Chief
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Prescription Drug Shortages Growing
One of the latest shortages is the generic form of Adderall XR, used for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adults. Even more serious are shortages of injectable cancer drugs and anesthesia for use during surgeries and other life-saving functions. Insurance companies often will only pay for generics, and this has become particularly critical for these people that cannot get the generics.
Numerous reasons are given for shortages. Raw materials can be scarce, government inspectors can shut down production because of quality concerns, demand can suddenly outstrip supply, and manufacturers may choose not to make some low-profit products. With some pain medications, there have been restrictions to fight illicit use, making it harder to obtain the medication for legitimate pain patients. The FDA maintains a website that lists medically necessary products that are difficult or impossible to get. This week, there are 192 drugs on the shortage list.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/health/medicine/growing-prescription-drug-shortages-alarm-doctors-pharmacists-patients/1169045
Chantix Lawsuit Claims It Caused Murder-Suicide
A lawsuit has been filed by the estates of a couple killed in a murder-suicide two years ago saying its stop-smoking medicine Chantix caused the rage that prompted the event. Sean Wain, 34, killed himself and his wife Natalie, 33, in an early-morning shooting in May 2009, leaving four children behind. The lawsuit states that users of Chantix were not sufficiently warned at the time that it can cause rage, hostility, and suicide.
http://pharmalive.com/news/index.cfm?articleID=780364&categoryid=9&newsletter=1
Pharmaceutical Representatives Being Replaced by Digital Tools
Big PHARMA companies have found replacements for sales representatives they've laid off in recent years by using digital sales tools that seek to sell doctors on drugs without the intrusion of an office visit. The firing of tens of thousands of pharmaceutical sales representatives have created a void that drug makers are now increasingly filling with websites, iPad apps, and other digital tools to interact with doctors who prescribe their treatments. These devices can be used to order free samples, find out which insurers cover certain treatments, and even engage in live chats or phone them back if they have more questions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703702004576268772294316518.html
Food Quality Feared in China
Two years ago, China's government was reeling from nationwide outrage over melamine-contaminated baby milk that sickened 300,000 infants and killed at least 6, and declared food safety a national priority. Subsequently, throngs of shady food processors have been threatened, raided, and arrested, and a couple of them were even executed. Despite the government's efforts to create a modern food-safety program, oversight is still haphazard and is in the hands of ill-trained, ill-equipped, and outnumbered enforcers whose quick fixes are very quickly undone.
Recently, China's news media have reported sales of pork adulterated with clenbuterol, pork sold as beef after being soaked in borax, rice contaminated with cadmium, arsenic-laced soy sauce, popcorn and mushrooms treated with fluorescent bleach, bean sprouts tainted with an animal antibiotic, wine diluted with sugared water and chemicals, outdated rolls mixed with flour and water and repackaged and sold, and even eggs that have turned out not to be eggs at all but were fabricated concoctions of chemicals, gelatin, and paraffin. Manufacturers have found that the odds of profiting from unsafe practices far exceed the odds of getting caught.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/world/asia/08food.html?_r=1
Sanofi to Market a Short Needle Flu Vaccine
Sanofi Aventis announced its approval to market its Fluzone Intradermal vaccine for adults, allowing for flu injections with a very fine needle that may hurt less than standard vaccines and requires less of the active ingredient. The Fluzone Intradermal vaccine will be available to healthcare providers in the U.S. for the coming flu season.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/10/us-sanofi-idUSTRE74912K20110510
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703992704576305482186274332.html
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