It's amazing what an hour of aimless channel surfing can turn up these days.
After some freewheeling with the remote one night recently, I managed to catch not only half a dozen low-budget makeover shows but also three ads for FDA-approved pharmaceuticals: one for depression, another for premenstrual dysphoric disorder and a third for inadequate eyelash syndrome - sorry, "eyelash hypotrichosis."
Prescription treatment for "longer, thicker and darker lashes?" Fellow Americans, have we lost our minds?
In the ad, actress Brooke Shields coyly advises women that any eyelid skin darkening that occurs - a potential side effect of the prescription liquid - "may be reversible" but "close doctor supervision" could still be necessary. Oh, and did I mention that the proposed treatment can take 16 weeks? Imagine the doctors' billable hours!
How does the pharmaceutical industry have the nerve to tap an already lucrative cosmetics market while keeping a straight face medically? And what exactly was Ms. Shields thinking as she read copy that, to my male ears at least, made the product sound downright scary: "There is potential for increased brown iris pigmentation, which is likely to be permanent ... for hair growth to occur in areas where [the] solution comes in repeated contact with skin surfaces. If you develop or experience any eye problems or have eye surgery, consult your doctor immediately."
Ms. Shields has also made a "video diary" - you can find it online - to "chronicle her lash journey." It sounds like an epic voyage. "I thought I would be a good candidate" for the prescription treatment, she confides, "simply because over the years I've just been ripping off my false eyelashes while on Broadway."
We do not go to American TV to seek signs of deep thought. The studios that gave us Baywatch, Toddlers & Tiaras and Skating with Celebrities can't be accused of setting our expectations too high. Still, at least we know what we're getting with such shows. Direct-to-consumer, or DTC, pharmaceutical advertising, legal only in the U.S. and New Zealand, is (or should be) another matter. After all, it concerns public health.
We should recall that we did just fine when these ads were limited to professional journals and health care providers. That constraint reduced the risk of self-diagnosis and spared us the barrage of vanity treatments that now besets us.
