Fifty-four years ago this week, U.S. President Richard Nixon signed legislation officially banning cigarette ads on television and radio. Nixon, like the majority of people back then, smoked, the occasional cigar anyway.
Even in the face of fierce tobacco lobbyists and a nation of tobacco lovers and farmers, the government was able to pass a law that helped, not hindered, people; profits and politics be damned.
They recognized the marketing of cigarettes, especially to youth, was actually not cool, at all. Big government, regardless of political party affiliation, was able to help all Americans based on scientific evidence.
Back then, smoking tobacco was not considered a moral affliction. It was more of a relaxation technique, a social bonding practice and addiction was not a word in anyone’s vocabulary.
That was then. This is now.
As the saying goes, evolve or die. But here’s another one: The more things change, the more they stay the same.
The US and New Zealand are the only countries in the world that allow direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. Out of 195 countries, only two allow it.
In 2022, Big Pharma spent $8.1 billion dollars on pushing high-priced name-brand drugs from statins to cancer to diabetes medicine. And the push for drugs that affect the brain’s delicate chemistry is astounding. To suffer from depression or anxiety is considered unacceptable. Smiles, everyone, smiles! Everyone happy all the time please!
“Big Pharma” is a catchall term for the fantastic conglomeration of big business prescription drug manufacturers and their representatives. Some would call them “pushers” and indeed, they are attempting to hawk high-priced drugs to create profit. Read dependency.
Like drug cartels in underprivileged parts of the world, including parts of impoverished America, pharmaceutical companies and their stockholders have become rich, rich, rich. The diseased and over-diagnosed, insured and uninsured alike, gobble the commercials up like the hungry sheep they are.
An ironic footnote in a history of snake oil salesmen, if Americans can’t get their drugs legally, they’ll get them illegally. Pain is pain. “Give me convenience or give me death!”
The US may be “rich,” a relative term at best, but it is certainly not healthy. Why should that be? It defies logic. It’s downright disturbing that a country so bountiful would now have the highest rates of mental illness and obesity in the entire world.
The point here is if in the 1970s the federal government could force mainstream media to remove cigarette ads from television and radio, why can’t they do it today?
In a culture where mass shootings barely cause an eye blink except to ratings nerds, drugs are naturally going to be easy fixes. It is irresponsible to profit off the misfortunes of anyone. Fear-mongering doom scrolls are not the answer.
Let’s get better, not bitter, America.
Standard reporter JL Jacobs can be contacted at jjacobs@southernstandard.com
