I made a comment in class about the fact that whenever a "Restless Leg Syndrome" commercial aired, I started to feel the symptoms and was convinced I had this rare, yet treatable disease with the help of GlaxoSmithKline drugs. Turns out what these pharmaceutical companies are doing is "disease mongering" orWhat was most interesting to me is that in 2003 GlaxoSmithKline launched a campaign for raise awareness for Restless Leg Syndrome. The idea of a drug company trying to raise awareness for a particular disease should raise some eyebrows. They're not a charitable or research organization. They just want to make money off of people's hypochondriaric ways.
In 2005 they issued a press release titled "New survey reveals common yet under recognized disorder—restless legs syndrome—is keeping Americans awake at night." It just so happens that later in 2005, the FDA approved the drug ropinirole as a treatment method for RLS.
Furhermore, both the media and GlaxoSmithKline stressed the “…relatively few doctors know about restless legs. This is the most common disorder your doctor has never heard of" angle. Which basically says, we here at GlaxoSmithKline know more than your doctors do, you better tell them what's going on.
So let's recap. In 2003, a drug company starts a campaign to raise awareness for a little known "disease" (if you can even call it that). Then they release a document which plays into the mystery surrounding the "disorder." Notice how it's called a disorder because it is not medically recognized as a disease. The term "disorder" connotes the idea that there is something out of the ordinary, or something that we can fix that is keeping us up at night. I also just realized that GlaxoSmithKline did an incredible job of introducing another aspect into the mix. Not only are they marketing pills for their ADD leg disease, but by talking about insomnia, they are subtly referencing their sleep medication Ambien, and a host of other sleeping pills they produce. Finally, they urge consumers to educate their doctors. They are literally telling me, a 20-year-old college student to tell my ivy-league educated, award-winning, book-publishing doctor that there's a disease out there, of which she's not familiar, but that she shouldn't worry because GlaxoSmithKline has got us covered.
In 2005 they issued a press release titled "New survey reveals common yet under recognized disorder—restless legs syndrome—is keeping Americans awake at night." It just so happens that later in 2005, the FDA approved the drug ropinirole as a treatment method for RLS.
Furhermore, both the media and GlaxoSmithKline stressed the “…relatively few doctors know about restless legs. This is the most common disorder your doctor has never heard of" angle. Which basically says, we here at GlaxoSmithKline know more than your doctors do, you better tell them what's going on.
So let's recap. In 2003, a drug company starts a campaign to raise awareness for a little known "disease" (if you can even call it that). Then they release a document which plays into the mystery surrounding the "disorder." Notice how it's called a disorder because it is not medically recognized as a disease. The term "disorder" connotes the idea that there is something out of the ordinary, or something that we can fix that is keeping us up at night. I also just realized that GlaxoSmithKline did an incredible job of introducing another aspect into the mix. Not only are they marketing pills for their ADD leg disease, but by talking about insomnia, they are subtly referencing their sleep medication Ambien, and a host of other sleeping pills they produce. Finally, they urge consumers to educate their doctors. They are literally telling me, a 20-year-old college student to tell my ivy-league educated, award-winning, book-publishing doctor that there's a disease out there, of which she's not familiar, but that she shouldn't worry because GlaxoSmithKline has got us covered.
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