A number of legislators are now taking aim aeet TV advertisements for prrescription drugs especially at the 60-second spots that have made viewers familiar with maladies such as urinary urgency and deficient eyelashes — not to mention side-effects like four-hour erections.
Representative James P. Moran, Democrat from Virginia is sponsoring a house bill that would ban ads for prescription sexual aids like Viagra and Levitra and Cialis from prime-time television on decency grounds.
Do yo u think bans of this kind interfere with free-speech rights?
The UnitedUnited States is only one of two countries in the world that permit direct-to-consumer drug advertisements. The other is New Zealand.
Is it high time for the United States to ban sex ads on TV?
What do you think?
You seem to be bringing up two different issues here, Neil, although there is some overlap: prescription drug ads and ads with a sexual nature.
As for banning prescription drug ads: seeing as at least half the ads contain disclaimers — e.g. “common side effects have been found to be…” — I don’t see how they can be harmful. And since half the population is drugged up how much worse can it get?
As for sex ads: there are good ones and bad ones, all in the eye of the beholder. I suppose condom ads are “sex ads” and I can’t see anyone seeing any good in banning them. Viagra ads? I honestly have never understood the need for that drug. If a man can’t get an erect penis, doesn’t that mean he isn’t attracted to whom he’s with? So why artificially inflate for somone you’re not attracted to?
Tony, erectile dysfunction is associated with a variety of sicknesses including diabetis. In such cases even if attracted the guy can not have an erection (it does not mean he can’t ejaculate however). For such cases Viagra and other similar pills, under medical supervision (costly in the USA) can be of some help.
I’m giving you back your 25 cents so you can buy some litterature on the subject.
As for medecine publicity I guess it just promotes hypochondria and the USA and NZ should follow the rest of the world in forbidding them.
If sex in publicity was to be banned it should also apply to soap operas and other racy shows, not the way to go in a free society.
Good morrow, all!
I find it interesting that politicians, those bastions of decent, moral behaviour, should petiton for the banning of advertising that might be suggestive or even explicitly sexual in nature. The premise being, of course, that the people who vote for them are simply too stupid to make rational decisions, and must be led by the hand, or driven by the rod, to decent, moral behaviour.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain! – CTZen
Cornelius
I agree with everything you said and you said it very well. Thank you!
Good morrow, Heidi!
Thank you, my dear, you’ve made a happy man very old.
Only steal from the best – CTZen