Disease mongering, direct to consumer advertising and the case of the fake drug Havidol
As you read in the title, Havidol is not a real drug. It is a fictional campaign created by artist Justine Cooper. It’s a great way to raise awareness on disease mongering and think about direct to consumer advertising.
From Wikipedia:
Havidol (avafynetyme HCL) is a parody campaign for a fictional medication to treat a fake psychological disorder called Dysphoric Social Attention Consumption Deficit Anxiety Disorder (DSACDAD). [Pronounced Dee-sack-dad] The name is a play on the phrase: “have it all”; its chemical name, “avafynetyme HCL”, reads, “Have a fine time”.
If you want to dig deeper on disease mongering and the pharmaceutical industry, I highly recommend: A Collection of Articles on Disease Mongering in PLoS Medicine.
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