I get a real kick out of radio commercials (who has time for TV?!) for various prescription drugs. You know, the ones that talk about this new, amazing drug on the market for an ailment like erectile dysfunction or leaky gut. They show the happy older couple snuggling on the front porch swing, convincing us that if we take this new drug, we might somehow see ourselves in this same scenario.

Where the real entertainment starts though, is at the end of the commercial. A serious voice comes on and rambles through about 50 negative side effects, sometimes including death! We live in a world that is inundated with headlines, articles, and information. It’s constantly at our fingertips and because information is so readily accessible means that there’s more of it now than ever before. Unfortunately, it’s not all true or fact-checked. We read a headline because it catches our eye, but that’s all we’ve got time to do, just read the headline. We don’t read the article. We don’t do any further independent research to find out if that headline was actually even true.

Marketing and advertising companies are taking full advantage of this, especially where alcohol is concerned. They know that the public will catch a glimpse of a headline saying something like “Research shows that 2 glasses of red wine at night is good for your heart” and since so many people are looking for affirmation that drinking is okay, they read no further and check no further facts. I would love to see a commercial for some kind of alcohol that shows that picturesque life - swinging on the porch, sipping wine with two kids playing in the yard and the white picket fence. At the end is that list of 50 things you can expect as negative side effects by ingesting this drink - to include cancer, poor judgment, domestic violence, vomiting, hangovers, nausea, hepatic encephalopathy, erectile dysfunction... to name just a few.