Big Pharma uses ads that sow hypochondria, raise health fears and sell diseases to adults and their children. It's no secret that advertising works. Big Pharma wouldn't spend over $4 billion a year on direct-to-consumer advertising if it didn't mean massive profits. What is more unknown is why drug ads that sow hypochondria, raise health fears and "sell" diseases are often the most common - and effective - even when the drugs themselves are of questionable safety. The nation's fourth most frequent drug ads in 2009 for were Cymbalta, making Eli Lilly $3.1 billion in one year, despite the antidepressant's links to liver problems and suicide. Pfizer spent $157 million advertising Lyrica for fibromyalgia in 2009, despite the seizure pill's links to life-threatening allergic reactions. The same year, it spent $107 million advertising the antidepressant Pristiq, even though it also had links to liver problems.
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