Trouble sleeping? Try this ad...

Consumer Reports has just posted the second in our series of CR AdWatch videos that add commentary and context to widely seen pharmaceutical advertisements. You’ll recognize this ad immediately: It’s the one that has Abe Lincoln and a talking beaver offering consolation to an unfortunate insomniac.

The ad—the latest in a series—is memorable not only for its quirky cast of characters, but also because the drug it promotes (Rozerem) does not appear to pose the same risk of chemical dependency as other prescription sleeping pills. Yet as our commentary notes, that doesn’t mean your first move after a sleepless night should be to beg for a prescription. I’ll let the AdWatch crew tell you the rest themselves.

Credit for the video belongs to our host, Associate Editor Jamie Kopf Hirsh, to CRTV News producer Ann Burr Tenthoff, and to the rest of the Consumer Reports Health team. And by the way, here’s a link to their earlier AdWatch video on a remedy for restless legs syndrome. We hope you’ll find them interesting and thought-provoking.—Kevin McKean, Editorial Director

Learn more

• Read about non-drug approaches to insomnia.
  
• CR Best Buy Drugs assesses drugs by effectiveness and cost. What insomnia drugs are the best overall buy?
  
• Not sure whether you've got insomnia or not? We'll tell you the symptoms, how common it is and how all treatment options compare in our Insomnia Treatment Center.

Comments

[SandyS]

I agree that advertisement for prescription drugs should not be on television, radio, or even the internet at all. Perfectly adequate information is given in print with the prescription YOUR PHYSICIAN gives you. Don't be lazy, read it.
We need to be informed consumers, but short ads with gimmicks are not informing us. Support Consumer Reports so you have access to real information from unbiased sources.

By the way, Consumers probably didn't spend the massive amounts on their video that the manufacturer did. It got its point across.

SandyS

[funkspiel]

Sex can help.

[Kris Etz]

Why do we just not have drug ads on TV at all? And the ads that tell you to ask your doctor if you need them even when the use is not clear- what's up with that??? How very difficult to teach kids to NOT do drugs when there are ads all over touting the good of them??? This makes sense??? NOT AT ALL
We need to stop sucking up to big pharma and focus on being well, not ill. There is a time and a place for the drugs (I would not be here at all without having had antibiotics to help clear peritonitis) but...in response to this sleep aid ad, try changing what you put in your mouth and get up and get moving!

[Cathy]

I give the video an A. Any attempt to stop big Pharma from poisoning the whole U.S. is a breath of fresh air. Prescription drugs are dangerous. Most people who start taking them become sicker. Of course there are drugs that will help people, but the majority of it is being done for profit.

[JoeK]

I totally agree with rob's posting that prescription drugs should not be advertised to the general public. Drug selection should be left solely to a trusted physician without pressure from non-professinals. Instead of prohititing them, perhaps prescription drug advertising should simply not be allowable as a corporate business expense. This would effectively eliminate them.

[Joe]

This video is for people who don't have a clue.
The ER Doc has the best perspective.
Why knock CR for trying to wake up the Sleeping Masses.
Rule of Thumb: If you have to watch TV, mute the commercials. This is some corporation spending millions to get you to buy. Why let these guys into your home at all. How many buyers does it take to pay for the commercial and then make a profit, Duh!!! And don't watch the news, that will keep your little pea brain awake, for sure.
Ever heard of meditation, naw, I didn't think so.

[Peter]

Four lousy comments? That’s a pretty pitiful reaction considering the dozens of overwhelming negative responses to Jamie’s spoof of restless leg syndrome. I guess CR pulled together to save Jamie the embarrassment of having to read negative reviews of her unbiased opinions (choke). So, I take it that these four comments are what are left over. Good work CR for wasting our member fees on more socialist propaganda.

[David]

you'll note by the timestamp that I fall into the category of individuals being targeted by this ad's onslaught.

Our milieu is one where instant gratification is a way of life and so popping a pill is the quickest solution to a perceived problem. That gets reinforced(or perhaps created by) these ads which, unlike the print version, do not have all the fine print attached to them. Cleverly they say "ask your doctor" who, for reasons already mentioned, may find it easier to prescribe than to take the time to explain the pros and cons.

And speaking of cons, I take except to the attack on this series mounted by Adam Williams. Rather than dealing with the reality these reports (condensed though they may be) are describing Mr. Williams sounds like a spokesperson for Big Pharma who takes apart the approach the report takes by including options b. and c. (and of course e.) with a putdown as to what motivates CR in raising these questions and questioning the underlying assumptions the commercial makes.

Though he says seeking a therapist can be of value one doesn't go to that expense until more conservative approaches have been tried, thus the Benedryl option for short term and/or sporadic use. Even taking melatonin appears to have value in regulating sleep patterns. The avoidance of some things in the hours before bedtime (something I've needed to do) is useful for those who don't realize they are getting in the way of dropping off to sleep in a reasonable amount of time.

If one recognizes that psychological factors are at play even then trying the non-prescription alternatives can be helpful in inducing sleep but if that doesn't work then professional assistance in dealing with the underlying issues can be of value.

Many people have hangups about "going to a shrink" as they might put it, and so the Rozerem approach may be more appealing. But even Tony Soprano put his ego on the line and went to a professional for help, and even allowed compatriots to know about it.

Hopefully this long rant has encouraged more than a few Z Z Z Z Z Z s along the way...

[mss]

There are some very good points in this. Try exercise, not watching TV in bed, regulating your sleep/wake cycles, or if worse comes to worse, just go through a day or two of being tired and then your body absolutely will sleep. you do not need a pill for everything. If you absolutely must, take a benadryl or two. Works just fine. I'm an emergency physician and I know a bit about sleepless nights, and likewise I know exactly how the pharm industry shamelessly promotes these unsafe, habit forming meds. The general public, who has not read the drug detailing or the research behind them, gets convinced that they need the most expensive, newest med, and their doc, afraid that a bad review from a patient will cost them patient satisfaction points, will oblige, and we all pay in our insurance premiums. I see folks either beggin for a prescription for these medicines (without ever considering non pharmacologic therapies) or overdosing on them and winding up in the ICU. I have seen many, many folks take too many of these and become critically ill. Certainly there are some folks that can benefit from these meds, but by far and away, most just need sleep hygiene counselling. We are a drug riddled country. These adds need to be taken off of the air.

[Adam Williams]

I am a bit confounded as to what the true motivation is behind your AdWatch series, Kevin.

a. Is it to inform and enlighten?
b. To get new subs?
c. To take a playful jab at the ad industry and Big Pharma?
d. Or, is it to provide value and possible real solutions for end users suffering from insomnia?
e. All of the above?

In Mrs. Kopf Hirsh's report, she says that the beaver's advice for consulting the subject's doctor is premature and shouldn't be the insomniac's first step. She goes on to tick off three ways in which the subject may help alleviate his or her sleeplessness.

Should going to a doctor or psychologist - both of whom could quite possibly counsel the insomniac on effective medication or talk to his or her unique condition, - be a (prudent) step at all? Kevin, this didn't come through in your reporter's AdWatch video report.

Now, I imagine that some insomniacs are overcaffeinated, work out or have a drink close to bedtime, or simply cannot wind down before trailing off. Nevertheless, I would love to have heard about the breakdown of those bleary-eyed souls whose sleepless nights were actually impacted or upset by those aforementioned factors.

Moreover, is it possible that a root cause of restlessness in some insomniacs is spurred on by a traumatic event, or recurring bad dreams? And couldn't reaching out to a therapist and potentially getting to the core of the habitual problem prove worthy?

The overall reporting of this piece is what really left me puzzled -- and disappointed. It contained holes and lacked cohesion. And when I scroll up to my opening statement of this post and go through the possible multiple choices for what I thought was the real intent of this series -- I was hoping for the letter 'E' (all of the above) -- I give this AdWatch series report a 'C'

Is the fact that Big Pharma spends all that money on commercials advertising sleeping pills actual news? No, it's not.

Please see how you can actually provide some real solutions to this problem, Kevin.

Thank you for reading.

[rob]

I believe that the federal goverment should ban prescription drug ads from tv,radio and print. Why is it that the all oversees countries already ban the ads and we still have them? Most likely the only reason we have them is the fact that drug company lobbyists are lining our congressmans pockets.