Ed note: Thanks to Dick D for sending this along. I’ve been puzzled when watching TV that so many commercials are for very expensive drugs for conditions that aren’t all that common. The hype benefits then discuss side effects (even death) while showing happy people in sylvan scenes. I had no idea that I was paying for these ads with my tax dollars!
From Nation of Change: “U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) recently introduced the End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act, legislation that would prohibit pharmaceutical drug manufacturers from claiming tax deductions for direct-to-consumer advertising expenses. Despite the fact that advertising expenses by pharmaceutical drug manufacturers have more than quadrupled in the past 20 years, drug companies continue to deduct the cost of advertising expenses from federal taxes.