Sexy, athletic men scaling mountains, going to parties, and having fun. This is the typical image of HIV-infected people presented by manufacturers’ slick advertisements for AIDS drugs. For several years now community observers, especially those involved in HIV prevention work, have been concerned about the false impression such ads leave. They mask the fact that HIV poses a fatal danger, notes San Francisco AIDS patient and activist Jeff Getty. “We don’t think it’s a sexy disease,” he says. “It’s about IV tubes, wheelchairs, and pain.”
San Francisco has officially taken the drug companies to task about their imagery, which contributes to the complacency that now significantly fuels the HIV epidemic. A SF health department survey shows that most people think HIV drug ads picture “men who are healthy, handsome and strong”; and that such false perceptions lead people to forego safer sex practices. The research convinces their epidemiologist that “the drug companies are using sex to sell drugs … to a very vulnerable and sexually identified population … resulting in [increased sexual risk-taking].”
Now the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has warned the major manufacturers to change their ads. They should be clear that: The drugs do not cure HIV/AIDS; they have serious side effects; a product must be taken in combination with other drugs; the meds do not reduce transmission. Further, the FDA criticized, present images are not realistic; and by misleading people, they violate FDA rules. The AIDS drug marketplace, a Merck spokesperson sniffs, is “highly competitive.” Although there is some question as to the extent of the FDA’s regulatory authority in the matter, they have given the drug manufacturers three months to comply. Given the growing level of HIV infection among gay men, especially younger men, a more sober and realistic perception can’t come soon enough.
This article appears in July 6 • 2001.