Well, we all know how GSK's reps used to promote Paxil. Concert tickets, tickets to the Superbowl, notepads, pens, lavish dinners, strip bars.
All of the above has come out in various litigation cases against GSK but we, the public, rarely get to see some of the promotional tools used by GSK reps to promote Paxil... until now.
Basically, GSK reps were told by senior management to hand out small tokens of gesture to the doctors they visited - we now know that these small tokens were, at times, expensive tickets to concerts and sporting events. But what was the psychology behind the less expensive gifts handed out? Were they subliminally sending out the message "prescribe Paxil" to doctors and the patients that were seen by these doctors?
Read this post to the end. One of the promotional products will have you wondering why Glaxo have never been open about one of their certain Paxil Promotional gifts. I promise you, it's well worth seeing.
Promotional Gift #1
Paxil branded calculator.
Okay, pretty boring one to start off with. Maybe the GSK reps handed these out with the words "You keep on prescribing and we will keep on giving you rewards. You can use the calculator to see how much you can make by prescribing our product"
Promotional Gift #2
Paxil branded Camera
Again, nothing really startling about a Paxil camera but it shows how GSK could use these small gifts to subliminally make the doctor think of Paxil.
Promotional Gift #3
Paxil branded back massage
When those Paxil reps weren't entertaining doctors at various strip joints, the doctors probably needed some stress relieving product. Complete with batteries too. Nice.
Promotional Gift #4
Paxil branded wall clock
Very clever marketing and psychology used by Glaxo here. Think about it. You walk into your doctors office, you feel anxious or depressed about something. You spy the brightly coloured clock on the wall of your doctor's office. It was designed to stand out and even has Paxil tablets at 3,6 and 9 O'clock.
Promotional Gift #5
Paxil branded mouse
Yet another constant reminder for the doctor. See's a patient, uses computer to bring up patient's case notes...uses Paxil branded mouse for that particular 'click' - Genius marketing again from GSK. Notice the cute little kayak that is floating inside this mouse on a sea of green. There's a person sitting in the yellow kayak. How serene, quite the opposite to the side effects of Paxil!
Promotional Gift #6
Paxil branded balancing pen
Pretty snazzy, huh? Again, it's eye catching, not only for the doctor, but for the patient visiting too. A chrome finish pen that is balancing and floating on a triangular base.
Promotional Gift #7
Paxil branded Swiss Army Knife
So, nice little Swiss army pocket knife. Hopefully these never got into the hands of the patients who were suffering the severe withdrawal caused by Paxil or the akathsia caused by Paxil, a precursor to suicidal thoughts and completion of suicide. Amazing huh, given that so many children and teens self-harmed whilst taking Paxil!
Oh, by the way, if you think GSK reps only promoted Paxil in the US, you'd be wrong. Here's a Swiss Army Knife promoted in the UK. For those of you that don't know, Paxil is known as Seroxat in the UK.
Okay, I've saved the best until last. This one is quite astounding given that it is intended to be used by the patient. It's an example of how Glaxo promoted Paxil and, at the same time, convinced the patient that they had a mental disorder. The device used didn't even have a patent at the time, the patent office probably laughed when they were told how it works...they probably asked for proof too.
Promotional Gift #8
Paxil branded Health Survey Scanner
FRONT
This is quite brilliant. It's a device that doctors give to patients and, judging by the patient responses, the doctor or device can actually tell the patient if they have depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder or social anxiety disorder. It's a device that, basically, makes it look like there's an actual science behind diagnosing, when, in actual fact, it's all based on guess work.
Now, let's take a look at the back of the device. This is very revealing and, I am guessing, has never been seen before either by the public (outside of those visiting doctors in the US) or by any US attorney. This highlights how GSK wanted doctors to prescribe Paxil to children, even though it was never granted a licence to treat children. Notice the use of the words carefully then ask yourself why it would be suggested that an adult not use a crayon to fill in his/her answers? How many adults do you know that uses a crayon?
BACK
Where, I hear you ask, did I get these from?
Well, they are collectibles and are available on Ebay. Quite ironic that these promotional tools that, over the years have been part of a campaign that has led to horrific withdrawals, birth defects and completed suicide, are now exchanging hands for money. Who knows, we may even see Peter Sutcliffe's hammer collection available on Ebay someday soon!
So, there you have it folks. Just a small insight into how GSK persuaded doctors to prescribe Paxil. Next time you read about them denying that they ever promoted Paxil use in children, ask them if they know any adults that use crayons to write with...that doesn't include the heartless reps who promoted the use of this abhorrent drug in children!
Bob Fiddaman
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