“Is This Medication Good for Me?

A Moral Dilemma”

Script for vlog

[HOOK]

Have you ever seen an ad while watching TV or scrolling through your phone in which a
person was suffering from a severe back pain, but the pain magically disappeared after
consuming a small round tablet?

Or a person was having trouble sleeping but was able to fall asleep quickly after taking
another type of small tablet.

Imagine you were experiencing both back pain and difficulty sleeping, so you went to a
pharmacy and ordered the drugs you saw in an ad.

You read the directions and ingredients of the drugs, but you don't understand the terms
that are written there.

You decided to consume the drug, believing that it was safe because you saw it
advertised, and were surprised that it worked for you.

On the following morning, your friend asked for your help because he was also
experiencing severe back pain and difficulty sleeping. 

You paused for a moment before recommending those drugs to your friend despite not
knowing what was in them. In your mind, nothing bad happened to you so maybe that
will also be the case for your friend.

The next day, your friend informed you that he had a severe allergic reaction to one of
the drugs. Is it your fault that your friend had a severe allergic reaction, or is it the fault
of the widely advertised drug?

[INTRO]

A pleasant day to everyone! I would like to welcome you all to my vlog entitled “Is This
Medication Good for Me? A Moral Dilemma” but first let me give a short introduction
about myself. I am _____ a student from ____
So, before I explain what the scenario earlier is for, let me discuss our two main topics,
around which the scenario later will revolve. These two main topics are defining moral
dilemmas and explaining why the use of DTCA, or direct-to-consumer advertising of
drug companies can cause moral dilemmas.

[INTRO TO MORAL DILEMMA]

Now what is a moral dilemma?

In accordance with Crowder and Turvey (2013) When available options and
responsibilities do not allow for moral consequences, a moral dilemma exists. In such
cases, a decision or action is expected or considered necessary, and all of the available
options violate some moral obligation.

[MORAL DILEMMA IN RELATION WITH THE HOOK]

In the previous situation, the moral dilemma you faced was whether to help your friend
and risk his health in the process, or not to help your friend with his back pain and
sleeping problems.

You have two options, both with serious consequences. If you choose Option 1, which
is to assist your friend, you are immediately jeopardizing his health. If you choose option
2, which is to not assist your friend, you will be viewed as a careless friend who allows
his friend to suffer from back pain and sleeping problems.

As you can see, both options have nearly identical outcomes. However, the first option
will initially make you feel like a good person before crushing you with guilt when your
friend tells you he had a severe allergic reaction to one of the drugs. On the other hand,
the second option immediately crushes you with guilt for not assisting your friend.

[AUTONOMY AND JUSTICE]

When faced with a moral dilemma concerning a person's health and well-being,
autonomy and justice play an essential part in influencing an individual's decision-
making process.
Autonomy is defined as the ability to make an informed, involuntary choice. In the
medical field, this widely known autonomy focuses on the right of patients to make
independent decisions about their care based on their individual or cultural values and
convictions. Patient autonomy is a fundamental rule of nursing in which the patient has
the right to refuse medications, treatment options, or procedures.

The ethics of justice, on the other hand, is an ethical perception in which moral
judgments are made on the foundation of universal norms and procedures, in an
unbiased and reliable manner, with the goal of guaranteeing the equal and fair
treatment of all individuals.

[INTRO TO DTCA]

Moving on, let us now discuss drug companies' direct-to-consumer advertising.

There are both positive and negative views on DTCA.

Let us begin with the positive perspective.

As mentioned by Almasi et al. (2006) By informing the public about treatment options,
DTCA promotes the appropriate use of drugs for high-priority illnesses, such as statin
use in individuals with ischemic heart disease. However, critics argue that the
information in the advertisements is frequently biased and misleading and that DTCA
raises prescription costs without providing net evidence of medical benefits.

Now for the negative perspective.

In research from Parekh and Shrank (2018) DTCA has the potential to raise the cost of
pharmaceuticals with comparable efficacy, it can lead to life threatening decisions due
to misinformation, and it can have a number of negative consequences for the doctor-
patient relationship.

DTCA is concerned with the marketing and advertising of pharmaceutical products to

patients rather than health professionals. Furthermore, there are numerous claims that
DTCA raises medical costs for patients. Therefore, the disadvantages outweigh the
advantages.
Now how does this create a moral dilemma?

Because drug companies directly advertise their products to consumers, take note that
the majority of whom are not medical professionals, they will be unable to determine
whether or not the advertised medications are safe for them.

Because it is an advertisement, it will be biased and will only show the drug's positive
effects. Only a few seconds are allotted for the warning and potential negative health
effects of the drug. As a result, consumers like us are more likely to believe
advertisements rather than seek medical advice from doctors.

[DTCA IN RELATION WITH MORAL DILEMMA AND HOOK]

In the previous scenario, you are not a medical professional, but you recommended a
drug to a friend without realizing it could be harmful to his or her health.

Would you still recommend a drug to a friend if you knew it contained ingredients that
would cause his allergy to flare up? I certainly will not.

We must always keep in mind that what works for you may not work for others because
our bodies do not function in the same way.

[CONCLUDING STATEMENT]

We can now see a correlation between moral dilemmas and direct-to-consumer

advertising by pharmaceutical companies, which may benefit some but not the majority
of consumers. The preceding scenario is just one of many real-life incidents in which a
person's health was threatened due to DTCA.

In summary, to avoid moral dilemmas regarding an individual's health, rather than

recommending drugs that work for you to those seeking assistance, you can always tell
them to go consult a doctor so that their health is prioritized and not jeopardized.

Likewise, if you are not feeling well or your body is in pain, go to a clinic or hospital right
away. Avoid self-diagnosis and self-medication because, while it may work at first, the
longer you ignore the possibility that there is a problem with your health or body, the
worse it will become with each passing day.
Finally, this is a gentle reminder to not always believe what you see on the internet or
watch on television, especially if it has a significant impact on your physical and mental
health. The majority of the time, what you see is not always what you get. As a result, it
is critical to conduct preliminary research, comprehend what you are about to use or
consume, and seek the advice of a professional who can guide you and keep you safe.

[CLOSING REMARK]

With that being said, I hope you have learned something useful for today's discussion.
Remember to always trust your doctors and avoid misinformation. Thank you for taking
the time to watch this! Have a fantastically blissful day!
Reference:

Almasi, E. A., Stafford, R. S., Kravitz, R. L., & Mansfield, P. R. (2006). What Are the

Public Health Effects of Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising? PLoS Medicine,

3(3), e145. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0030145

Crowder, S., & Turvey, B. (2013). Moral dilemmas. ScienceDirect.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/psychology/moral-dilemmas

Parekh, N., & Shrank, W. H. (2018). Dangers and Opportunities of Direct-to-Consumer

Advertising. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33(5), 586–587.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-018-4342-9