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Comment by dawnerd | Hacker News Reader

I've heard another defense that's pretty laughable. Goes something like, the ads tell people about conditions they might have but not realize.

I fully think we should be banning prescription drugs. There's precedent already for banning product ads - tobacco ads are no longer allowed for example.

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I think the more charitable interpretation of this defense is: Ads tell people about conditions they might have, but not realize there is an available drug that can treat it. Or at least an encouragement to talk to their doctor about it.

If your condition isn't bothersome enough that you need an ad to prompt you to mention it to your doctor, perhaps it's not really an issue.

I think a lot of these ads prod hypochondriacs to rush to their doctor (or perhaps even the ER) to "tell them about their symptoms" which just drives up costs for everyone.

> If your condition isn't bothersome enough that you need an ad to prompt you to mention it to your doctor, perhaps it's not really an issue.

Au contraire, people will live with all sorts of debilitating conditions, assuming that treatment is exceptionally hard.

I lived with an impacted wisdom tooth for a long time, and when it was removed I suddenly realized that it wasn't just a natural way for my body to feel.

I also just assumed that I had to poop explosively in the morning just because, and not because I drank the large cup of milk my mother gave me.

And that's normal. Loads of people are like this.

All the more so in a place without socialized health care.

Yeah, in my case, I had access to the health care whenever I wanted. I just never thought to.

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