Unraveling the Intersection of Big Pharma and Media
Ozempic and the Marketing Maze
I recently saw a special wellness segment on NBC/Today that talked about some of the dangers of laxatives as a diet aid. It is just over five minutes long. I think it is worth watching, but I’d like you to bring your magnifying glass. It is a case study on how Big Pharma is using media to advertise their drugs.
The segment is framed in a way that suggests there is a right and wrong way to go about weight loss. That is clearly true. There is no arguing that long-term use of laxatives is a bad idea to maintain a healthier weight. This point was made perfectly clear.
A spokesperson for Dulcolax maker Sanofi stated that “Weight loss is not an approved use for Dulcolax products.”
In the segment, these laxatives were framed as a cheaper version of diet drugs Ozempic and Wegovy. Currently, Ozempic is also not approved for weight loss, however the report failed to mention this. It also failed to mention that Ozempic and Wegovy are life long drugs that have shown to be dangerous to the thyroid, causing tumors in rats.
Ozempic, a brand name for semaglutide, is a medication developed by Novo Nordisk to help individuals with type 2 diabetes control their blood sugar levels. While the drug has shown effectiveness in…
