The Cure-All Medication

As some of the regular readers are aware of I am a racing-fiend. Specifically NASCAR, but I enjoy pretty much all disciplines (I'll get up at 4am to watch a Formula One race for instance). The last few years some of the smaller teams have been signing sponsors from 'drug' companies.

It really started in 2000 when Pfizer jumped on the scene. Ironically the driver's last name was Fuller.

Pfizer stayed in the sport for many years and GSK got in on the act for a while too


And really there wasn't much wrong with it. Then we started getting the 'dietary supplements' entering the sport and it is where the purpose of this post came into play. Namely there has been extensive debate over the emergence of the supplement Extenze entering the sport

Often, since I have a background in pharmaceuticals, I am asked how can something like this be promoted on tv and on a car like this. Most of them are aware that it does not contain an active ingredient, so one would think that the FDA would step in.

And that is a very good point. How is it that products like these can be advertised, and advertised extensively, with little repercussions. We have a hard enough time trying to convince patients that generic brands are equal across the board or that simvastatin will work just as well as Lipitor in treating a patient's cholesterol.

Yet things like this are allowed to be advertised in anyway they please. Usually there is some crack down and fines involved for false advertising (Airborne being the prime example) but by then the damage has already been done.

You would think someone would want to step in and say, "Wait a minute, aren't we undermining legitimate healthcare by allowing these products to be on the market?"

And that is a very damn good point. Then again someone would have to overlook the dollar amounts involved and we all know that isn't terribly likely to change any time soon.