Kim C wrote: 'I got really tickled at an Allegra commercial last night, which said "side effects may include headache..." And I'm thinking, personally, I take allergy pills to AVOID headaches...'

What irritates (I wish I could say 'tickles', but not yet) me in pharmaceutical ads (aside from their ubiquity) are (1) the voice that cheerily announces that "side effects may include nausea, hypertension, water retention, dry mouth, and sexual side effects; in some cases more serious side effects may occur" (the cheery tone maintained throughout!), and the part where they say "tell your doctor if you suffer from liver or kidney disease"; I think that amounts to telling the patient to practice medicine without a license. Personally, I ask my doctor to tell me if I suffer from liver or kidney disease, not the other way around. Diagnosis, I think, is a significant part of what one pays a doctor for.

Liland