[Warning] Big Pharma is Controlling Your Brain

By Dr. Scott Olson, ND Posted December 29, 2017

You can’t turn on the television these days without seeing a drug ad.

Maybe there will be some cute cartoon… or some happy, healthy seniors who have had their lives changed by the latest “wonder pill.”

But there’s plenty going on in those drug commercials that you’re NOT supposed to see.

Big Pharma is using a psychological ploy to con us into thinking that their meds are safer than they are.

Here’s EXACTLY how they’re getting away with it. 

It all sounds good, until you discover the loopholes.

The Food and Drug Administration has said “Direct-to-consumer drug advertising needs to present a fair balance of information about a drug’s potential benefits and it risks.”

See? That looks good on paper.

But here is what happens: advertisers (unlike the FDA) know how your brain works.

Advertisers have discovered that if they give you a long list of side effects, you will think the drug is less risky.

If you are thinking this makes little sense, you are right. But drug company advertisers have paid millions of dollars to discover how your brain works and how they can take advantage of it.

Here is what they discovered.

Imagine a heart disease drug list of side effects:  

Most common side effects include: nausea, vomiting, fatigue, lightheadedness, dry mouth, headache, numbness, sudden, uncontrolled sweating, cancer, stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, vision problems, heart attack, dizziness, mild headache, sweating, mild skin rash, numbness, tingling, or cold feeling in your hands or feet, nervous feeling, sleep problems (insomnia), weight loss, and rapid heartbeat.

If you are typical, you probably didn’t read the entire list.

A new study shows that is exactly what happens when advertisers load a ton of mild side effects next to serious ones. Did you notice the serious side effects in the list?

Your brain checks out where there is a long list. Drug company advertisers found that listing many side effects increases your desire for the drug.

Your brain gets tired and stops listening.

In the study, researchers had volunteers listen to the same drug commercial. Half of the volunteers listened to only a few serious side effects, and the other had the long list of both serious and non-serious side effects.

The people listening to the long list could not recall many of the side effects, and they perceived the drug as better and less risky to take. Mission accomplished!

This is a psychological phenomenon called “the dilution effect”– which suggests the more items you are exposed to, the less you think each one weighs.

It is interesting, because earlier this year, drug companies tried to have these long lists removed from all advertising, but what they have learned is that more side effects might be better.

The FDA could solve this by having drugs companies list only a few serious side effects (the ones most likely to occur and the ones most likely to cause you harm).

But don’t hold your breath waiting for that to happen. 

Health and Happiness,

Dr. Scott Olson, ND

Written By Dr. Scott Olson, ND

Nearly 25 years ago, failed mainstream medical treatments left Dr. Olson in constant pain – and his health in ruins. And that’s when he did something REVOLUTIONARY. He began his career in medicine – and dedicated his life to uncovering the true, underlying causes of disease.
Through his innovative medical practices in Tennessee and Colorado, Dr. Olson has helped cure countless seniors from across America of arthritis… heart disease… diabetes… and even cancer. All without risky prescription drugs or painful surgeries.

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