I hate drug commercials – the kind that try to convince you that you need a pill for something with a list of side effects often sounding worse than the whatever-you-got-itis the magic pill was supposed to cure in the first place. But today I saw a commercial that surely took the cake. Enter Latisse.
In and day and age where people are losing their homes and struggling to feed their children, when breast cancer is still uncured and Alzheimer’s is ever increasing, what new and wonderful medical break-through am I supposed to get excited about? Thicker eye-lashes. Yep. You heard me. A new miracle treatment for “inadequate or not enough lashes” says the commercial. In only 16 weeks you can have thicker, longer eye lashes (by prescription only so run to your doctor immediately) and if you’re lucky it won’t temporarily stain your eyelids or permanently increase the brown pigmentation of your eyes. Hmmm….
I have a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s right now. Thanks to a recently released medication she is now able to remember to eat her meals, call her children by name (though not her grandchildren) and can SOMETIMES keep the days of the week straight now. It’s because of this quietly released medication that she’s seen this type of improvement.
I can’t help but feel a little angry that so much money was spent on research, development and advertising a prescription drug to grow eyelashes – an issue of vanity – when there are so many other, forgive me saying it, MORE IMPORTANT issues out there!
Now I’m sure there really is some medical condition where people can’t grow eyelashes – similar to the condition where you can’t grow hair (For which I’ve donated hair to Locks of Love many times in my life). But that is NOT what this commercial showed. At all. It said “Grow More Lashes!“. For only $120 per month, because, you know, I have nothing better to do with that much money. *rolls eyes – minimally lashed though they may be*
I don’t know about you, but I’d rather kill cancer and save brain cells myself.
You needn't worry about funds being wasted developing latisse. It was developed as a treatment for glaucoma and they discovered that lush lashes were a side effect of the drug.
Excellent thoughts – hits home to me. I thought of the same when I saw all those car ads on TV, during the time that the Auto Industry was asking for gov't money and people were being laid off without jobs. Perhaps, apply this advertising money to someone's salary and save a job and create a different type of auto? (true with any giant corporation)
Thank you for this post.
Excellent thoughts – hits home to me. I thought of the same when I saw all those car ads on TV, during the time that the Auto Industry was asking for gov't money and people were being laid off without jobs. Perhaps, apply this advertising money to someone's salary and save a job and create a different type of auto? (true with any giant corporation)
Thank you for this post.
Glad to hear the drug was developed for something more worthwhile, but still…why do we seem to think normal life is some sort of disease to be cured with drugs??
GG – Yes, the drug was developed after realizing the side effects from the glaucoma medication HOWEVER – to patent, rebrand, and get FDA approval all requires research and development as well as additional funds for studies, etc. It is something that strikes me as a frivolous waste of money for something that $10 and a trip to the hair salon can "cure" just as easily.
I was disappointed to see Brooke Shields throw her celebrity status into something so shallow while children in America are going without homes, my grandmothers mind is turning to mush, and my mother wonders when our family history of breast cancer will catch up to her.
Thank you for your comment! You bring up another fantastic point.
It worries me to see drugs misapplied….it's the same as how many OB's will prescribe Cytotec, a drug that was never tested or approved for use in pregnant women, to start labor.
Angela <><
Great post! It absolutely amazes me what kinds of drug commercials are out there…ugh! And people say that modern "medicine" isn't a money-making INDUSTRY!
Ang,
Wonderful "righteous anger" rant. Well put. But there's an additional place at which to vent your anger: the cancer research community itself.
Truth is, "cancer research" today is often little more than smoke and mirrors; after all this time and effort what have we achieved in our "war on cancer"?
This New York Times article (Saturday) lays it out the brutal truth of this reality: http://tr.im/q7fS
–Brock
I just saw this ad and almost croaked. First of all, Brooke Shields will hock anything, won't she? Secondly, are thicker lashes really the burning top of mind issue these days?