More About the Advertising of Fibromyalgia Treatments

Last week I wrote an article about advertising that targets fibromyalgia patients. I anticipated it might generate some negative comments because there are, in fact, some targeted ads on this site. Several of you did respond with excellent comments. And I agree that your concerns are valid.

First, I would like you to know that I have no control over what ads appear on this site. Google generates the ads on About sites based on keywords on the page. However, I can report offensive or misleading ads to Google, which I have done.

The fact that targeted ads are everywhere –– including this site and some nonprofit publications –– makes the significance of this article even more important. We need to be aware and beware of ALL ads targeted to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome patients –– whether they are on the Internet, on TV or in an FM publication.

We cannot stop all advertising aimed at us. Manufacturers have every right to advertise their product, but they do not have the right to make false claims. Personally, I can tolerate ads that claim to offer some symptom relief because, although there are a few outright scams, many products do offer some relief of symptoms for some people.

It is the ads that promise or imply that they will cure FM or CFS that I have a problem with. Since there is no cure for either illness, we know these ads are making false claims, trying to prey on our vulnerability. These are the ads that I have reported, and will continue to report to Google. If you see any of these ads on this site, please e-mail me and bring them to my attention.

Whether we like it or not, for the most part our free-market system operates under the old adage, “Let the buyer beware.” And that is my aim –– to encourage fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome patients to beware, to research product claims carefully and to evaluate whether the potential degree of improvement received is worth the price of the product.