In a new policy statement, the American Academy of Pediatrics is calling for the government to ban all tobacco advertising accessible to children and to limit alcohol and other drug ads on television, online, and in other media. “It is time to eliminate all tobacco advertising and to decrease greatly the depiction of smoking in mainstream media,” says researcher Victor C. Strasburger, MD, and colleagues in Pediatrics.
“Although parents, schools, and the federal government are trying to get children and teenagers to ‘just say no’ to drugs, more than $25 billion worth of cigarette, alcohol, and prescription drug advertising is effectively working to get them to ‘just say yes’ to smoking, drinking, and other drugs.”
The group says legal drugs – like alcohol and tobacco – pose the greatest danger to kids because they are among the earliest drugs used. AP
If the drug companies were to stop the advertising during the prime time news hours (5-7 PM) the price of prescriptions could go down maybe 75%.
What I don’t like about the advertisements is the bit about telling your doctor what drug to prescribe for you. Isn’t that the reason you go to a doctor? To find out what drugs you should take, not what the TV tells you to take?
Tobacco advertisements are virtually non existent. Maybe you will see a few signs at the gas station or WaWa which isn’t really the problem. It all comes down to how the person was raised. Stop blaming the “media” and blame yourselves. I play violent video games that have killing, drug use, and other “bad” things in it. Heck, I have since I was 8 and I am now 22. You don’t see my outside with a gun shooting people with a crack pipe in my hand now do you?