Survey Says ...

The insatiable curiosity of humankind marches onward. This time around, the Journal of the American Medical Association is stoking the fires of intellectual thought, prodding us to always question, always ponder, always consider. Ahh, the sweet joys of what Barton Fink would call "the life of the mind."

Reuters explains:

"A study that used actors to pose as patients has found that TV ads for prescription antidepressant drugs lead to both proper and over-use of such medicines, researchers reported ... Either way, they had an influence over which drug was prescribed.

"In the study published in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that the actors who asked for drugs often got them — leading to what would be considered proper levels of care. However, in some cases drugs were prescribed for a condition that did not warrant them.

“ 'These results underscore the idea that patients have substantial influence on physicians' and can be active agents in promoting quality health care, the study from the University of California at Davis found."

Hmm. You don't say.

Apparently a pharmaceutical industry that shells out more than $3.2 billion each year on advertising has been having .... drum roll, please ... some effect. That's right! There has been a marked impact from those crazy-eyed Madison Avenue svengalis inundating the airwaves with high-gloss commercials suggesting that if you're the least bit depressed, dejected, down, melancholy, blue or bummed out, then you need suffer no longer thanks to the revolution in antidepressants. And -- get this -- people have responded.

Next up: Study indicates people like birthday cake.