Television Ads for Medications (HLOL #236)

Health Literacy Out Loud Podcast

Diana Zuckerman, Ph.D. is President of the National Center for Health Research, a nonprofit think tank that conducts and analyzes research on a wide range of healthcare and health policy issues. She and a team use this research to inform policies and programs that affect the health of adults and children. Among her many accomplishments, Diana Zuckerman has testified about the safety and efficacy of medical and consumer products before the U.S. Congress, federal agencies, state legislative committees, and the Canadian Parliament.

In this podcast, Diana Zuckerman talks with Helen Osborne about:

• The growing number of television advertisements in the United States for prescription medications, dietary supplements, and other health products and services.
• Federal regulations regarding these types of direct-to-consumer ads.
• Communication strategies and intentional distractions used in these ads. They include background music and engaging visuals that are inconsistent with spoken words and written warnings.
• Ways to inform others about the downside of these ads.

More ways to learn:

• National Center for Health Research
• S. Food & Drug Administration, The Bad Ad Program to report potentially false or misleading prescription drug promotion.
• S. Federal Trade Commission, Health Products Compliance Guidance
• com, and other sites to search for contraindications.
• DrugWatch, “How to Read a Drug Label”
• Citizen Petition requesting the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a rule banning the use of background music during the presentation of the risks in direct to consumer drug advertising.
• Mammograms: Clearly Communicating New Guidelines, Health Literacy Out Loud podcast interview with Diana Zuckerman.

Health Literacy from A to Z: Practical Ways to Communicate Your Health Message, Third Edition, by Helen Osborne. Especially relevant to this podcast is the chapter, “General Public: Traditional Media.”

Read a transcript of this podcast.

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