You know what outrages me? Seeing those repetitive, dreamlike and misleading prescription drug commercials that seem to eat up more TV air time every year and have become ubiquitous in social media and print magazines.

The United States and New Zealand are the only nations that allow direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertising. Most countries banned the practice in the 1940s. Also, the United States spends more on drugs than all other industrialized countries combined.

Big Pharma refers to the large, multinational pharmaceutical companies that dominate the industry. They typically have significant resources and influence, and they are often involved in the research, development and marketing of drugs. They also have significant lobbying power in government.

These companies are addicted to direct-to-consumer advertising and marketing of prescription drugs, happy to bypass health professionals and appeal directly to individuals. They count on your gullibility and undermine your physician.

How much time do doctors have to spend today explaining why that drug you saw on TV is not the right one for you?

You’ve seen these nauseating commercials, which follow the same pattern: Show someone in distress, unable to enjoy life because they chipped a nail or something. Then the announcer touts the drug’s alleged benefits. Next comes the Zen-like music, scenes and graphics to show a patient’s sudden enlightenment about the drug’s benefits.

Cue the patient to start smiling for the camera. Then have the announcer cover the side effects, a list that takes longer to recite than the gestation period of an elephant. Miraculously, the patient now can do things they couldn’t before, such as play the banjo, swim 100 yards in an Olympics-record time or sing three arias from “Aida.”

Enough of this nonsense. Here are some sobering facts and figures you probably don’t know.

Big Pharma invests billions annually to try to convince you that they know better than doctors what you need to take to feel better. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, there’s been a drastic rise in drug advertising particularly since COVID.

In 2021, Big Pharma spent a total of $20 billion to schmooze doctors and another $6.88 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising.

American Health Insurance plans released a new study recently that found many Big Pharma Companies spent more on sales and marketing advertising than investing in research and development:

• Pfizer spent $12 billion on sales and marketing as compared to $9 billion on research and development (R&D).

• Bayer spent $18 billion on sales and marketing as compared to $8 billion on R&D.

• Johnson and Johnson spent $22 billion on sales and marketing as compared to $12 billion on R&D.

CEO annual salaries and total compensation for the largest seven Big Pharma companies averaged over $26 million last year.

Big Parma spent the most money of any lobbyist group in Washington, D.C., spending $690 million for federal lobbying in 2021 according to a newly released study from OpenSecrets. The result: The United States has more people on pharmaceutical drugs than any other nation and it ranks No. 1 worldwide for the cost of vital medicines.

Advertised drugs are not necessarily safe. Unfortunately, not all states bar controlled substances from being advertised.

Big Pharma often promotes new drugs before we know their safety profiles. We’ve become a pill culture that overuses drugs.

For years, the American Medical Association has called for a complete ban on DTC marketing.

Big Pharma often pushes the most expensive iteration of a drug; cheaper remedies are available. And they promote the idea that they have a drug to cure any problem — even those that shouldn’t require prescriptions, such as aging, wrinkles, and low testosterone levels.

Here’s how we can solve some of these issues:

• Congress should force the Food and Drug Administration to review and approve all drug content — which it’s not required to do now — before it’s released to the public.

• The FDA should require a two-year moratorium on DTC advertising for newly launched prescription drugs to allow for appropriate monitoring and regulation of drug safety and efficacy.

• The agency also should require that ads contain information about alternative treatments, such as making lifestyle changes, better nutrition, more exercise, etc.

• The FDA also should prohibit the airing of any ads or commercials that promote controlled substances, such as Adderall.

• Legislation to deny a federal tax deduction for prescription drug advertising expenses is presently before Congress should be passed. Senate bill S-141 and House bill HB-6392 would deny a deduction for DTC prescription drug advertising expenses in all media including the internet and digital platforms such as social media.

David Merritt, a senior vice president at the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, told reporters last week, “I do think we can find some common ground on the need to reform the prescription drug industry.”

I hope it would be feasible to try a voluntary moratorium, but it probably would fail because there’s too much money to be made by TV networks, drug companies and physicians.

It is past time for Big Pharma to stop looting our out-of-control healthcare costs — they need to be held accountable.

Jim Martin can be reached via email at jimmartinesq@gmail.com.