"PBA": New disease/drug commercial - unbelievable!

[cursichella1]

Posted by loungelizard (here)
I realise the OP is raising the question of the insane and distasteful habit of advertising pharmaceuticals on US television, and the eagerness with which corporations leap to label conditions so that they can sell you a medication but...

When my mum was in being treated in a rehabilitation unit, there was a lady in the neighbouring bed who had had a stroke. She had PBA. It is not a matter of a few tears at the wrong time, or a smile at an inopportune moment. She said it was like "crying without feeling sad and laughing without feeling happy".

Certainly many drugs advertised for public consumption (metaphorically & literally) have at least one legitimate application, as shown with your example of the stroke victim in rehab. My point is that this overtly misleading ad (and so many others) implies PBA is a much more common ailment than it is, that the public may not (until now) be aware of this fact...as if they are providing a public service announcement.

Further, it encourages savvy, prospective dupes to "get the facts", by visiting the PBAFACTS.COM website, where the concerned folks there will provide you with a "free toolkit" for some convenient self-diagnosing, sending many to their doctors for a prescription. Is the website or toolkit provided by a legit non-profit PBA organization? Of course not! Looking into the fine print we see it's those angels of deception at Avanir Pharmaceuticals who are so thoughtfully looking out for the masses.

btw I refer to PBA as "new disease" in the same way we were so generously informed about the newly discovered "restless legs or non-specific achey joints, muscles or bones with depression" syndrome and new drug for its treatment.

I venture most physicians treating patients with brain injury, etc., are aware of the possibility of PBA and look for symptoms of, or (treat "prophylactically" as the ingredients at the prescribed strengths are relatively harmless), so why advertise this drug during prime time television at the cost of $100k-$300k? For a tax write off??! Maybe that, but consider this:

A NEUDEXTA prescription (60 pills) costs between $650 - $810 U.S. (How do you spell gouge???) Its main ingredient is Dextromethorphan, a common, over the counter cough suppressant that is the active ingredient in Robitussin DM. Its secondary ingredient is Quinidine Sulfate, currently available at $20 for 60 pills. The Quinidine amplifies Dextromethorphan's effects.

Interesting, Dextromethorphan cough syrups have a history of abuse by teens. According to the DEA, "DXM" abusers "experience a sense of heightened perceptual awareness, altered time perception, and/or visual hallucinations...". Couple that with Quinidine as a DXM enhancer and its potential as an entirely new street drug becomes pretty apparent...