Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Opinion

Have you ever seen that Lipitor commercial? You know, the one with Robert Jarvik, "inventor of the artificial heart"? Well if you haven't, let me fill you in on the details. It starts with Jarvik looking poignantly into the camera with a beautiful lake in the background. Jarvik is identified as Dr. Robert Jarvik, the "creator of the artificial heart." He endorses Lipitor, a medication prescribed to people with high cholesterol, and then the commercial cuts to hypnotizing montages of Jarvik rowing rather impressively in the aforementioned beautiful lake.

So what's the big deal?

Well, it turns out Jarvik is not a cardiologist nor is he licensed to practice medicine in any state, although he does hold a medical degree. Then there is the letter sent by three of Jarvik's former colleagues at the University of Utah which claims that Jarvik was, in fact, not the inventor of the artificial heart. They claim Jarvik's mentor, Dr. William Kolff, and his associate, Dr. Tetsuzo Akutsu, deserve that distinction. It should be noted that since these protests, Pfizer changed the wording of the commercial to identify Jarvik as the "the inventor of the artificial Jarvik heart," a distinction that some of Jarvik's colleagues are still not satisfied with. Another one of Jarvik's former colleagues at the University of Utah insists that the Jarvik series of hearts was simply different versions of earlier prototypes. To top it off, the person you see rowing so impressively in the commercial is not even Jarvik but a trained double. According to The New York Times, Dr. Jarvik "does not row."

Could a commercial be any more misleading? Not only is Jarvik not qualified to make a professional endorsement of Lipitor, not only did he not invent what the commercial claims he did, but he doesn't even row!

Last week, under increasing pressure from congressional oversight, Pfizer announced it would pull its deceptive multi-million dollar ad campaign featuring Jarvik and create a new ad campaign instead. A representative for Pfizer said, "The way in which we presented Jarvik in these ads has, unfortunately, led to misimpressions and distractions from our primary goal of encouraging patient and physician dialogue on the leading cause of death in the world - cardiovascular disease."

When Pfizer says its main goal in its advertising campaigns is "[to encourage] patient and physician dialogue" my B.S. alarm goes off. What is Pfizer really suggesting here? It would seem they are implying there is a lack of dialogue between patients and doctors on cardiovascular disease. But if their goal is to create dialogue, why only mention their product? Why not provide consumers with the whole range of options available to them?

This raises an interesting point. Should pharmaceutical companies be allowed to advertise prescription drugs on television at all? Isn't there a reason certain drugs require a prescription from a doctor before you can buy them? Isn't the whole point that only a qualified medical professional is in a position to decide if you need this drug or not? Please do not assume I am against promoting patient-physician dialogue. If pharmaceutical companies really took an interest in promoting genuine patient-physician dialogue, that would be another case entirely. But clearly their goal is to increase the frequency with which their drug is prescribed.

Before you go all First Amendment on me, let me remind you that this government has already kicked tobacco ads off television. Indeed, the government censors a wide variety of images, ideas and words from the airwaves. If we are going to take a stand against nudity and cursing, I think it's time we take a stand against biased ads that try to make us pressure doctors to prescribe us medication.

I'm pleased to see that congressional oversight has forced Pfizer to end its deceptive ad campaign. My hope is that rather than waiting for Pfizer's next biased or deceptive ad, or any other pharmaceutical company's next ad, Congress will work to make sure patient and physician dialogue isn't corrupted by corporate influence.

Tim Hiller is a senior microbiology major and former vice president of the College Democrats. He can be reached at thriller@umd.edu.

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