Post originally by Omega at 2004-01-13 10:27:30
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Dude, this is a bit off topic, but I can tell you exactly why U.S. drug ads are vague: it's the law. When the federal govt. lifted the ban on prescription drug advertising (in 1990, I think it was) they stipulated in the new rules that prescription drug advertisers could only state the purpose of their product if they also presented a listing of side effects and warnings. Since a listing of side effects that may include severe illness and death sounds even more alarming when read as fine-print auction babble in a TV commercial, most drug companies sidestep by not mentioning what the drug is for.

Omega, a little too involved in his work.