Lookie what came in to my e-mail box overnight after yesterday's post about the hypotrichosis treatment, Latisse® brand of bimatoprost.
Hmm...I have a few ideas who might have sent this (no profanity, so it wasn't Comrade PhysioProf). And very interesting that this comes just a week before FDA holds an opening hearing entitled, "Promotion of FDA-Regulated Medical Products Using the Internet and Social Media Tools. For your information, here's the PDF schedule courtesy of colleague John Mack - Pharma Marketing Blog and @pharmaguy. John is currently running a survey in his masthead to solicit reader input as to what topics might interest them most - John is scheduled to speak early on the first day.
Just an aside: does the fact the hearing is being held at the National Transportation Safety Board Conference Center in DC mean it's going to be a trainwreck? (sorry, couldn't resist)
But just so you know that the manufacturer is in compliance with safety information requirements, the following was also in my E-card (although I had to scroll down to the next screen on the laptop to get it.
Post title courtesy of Bugs Bunny and The Three Bears (1944)
Technology
Comments
Is anybody else freaked out by the notion that a substance you brush on your eyelids could permanently alter your iris pigmentation?
Posted by: Constance Reader | November 4, 2009 8:53 AM
I am. And I'm also freaked out that they use Brooke Shields as their spokes-model for their TV ads. Surely she has a bazilion makeup tricks to deal with this kind of thing.
I'm not much of a consumer of beauty products to start with. Plus when you have ample eyelashes and wear glasses, it's hard to find glasses that aren't annoying. Use mascara and one blink turns your world into jail...
Posted by: Paula Helm Murray | November 4, 2009 10:35 AM
Oh noes! Not something that darkens your iris pigmentation!
The next thing you know, they'll be selling stuff that darkens your SKIN!!!
Posted by: becca | November 4, 2009 11:41 AM
So Becca...you're okay then with having random dark spots and other color changes show up (permanently) on you when you use a given product?
Let's see...oh, here's a good one. What about a mouth wash that randomly turns your gums black? A chapstick that randomly turns one spot or another on you lips green? A body lotion that randomly turns one spot or another on your arm bright blue? Those all okay with you too?
Posted by: Kate from Iowa | November 4, 2009 1:55 PM
Latisse is out there on the market, and yet crazy people accuse VACCINES as being a conspiracy to line the pockets of Big Pharma???
This drug is being advertised heavily in women's mags like Cosmo and Modern Bride. Color me surprised.
wtf. if you haven't lost all your hair to chemotherapy, then couldn't you just get by with some mascara?
Posted by: Rogue Epidemiologist | November 4, 2009 7:29 PM
MY question is, given how much we rely on sight, and how much it costs and hurts to fix damaged eyes, why on *earth* would anyone deliberately use a product for a "cosmetic enhancement" (in absence of horrible deformity) which can damage your eyes? Not just eye redness and itching, which really isn't going to make you attractive anyway, as anyone with pollen allergies is going to know -- but building up pressure in the eye????
This is like cutting off toes to be able to wear certain shoes. It's nuts.
Posted by: Luna_the_cat | November 5, 2009 5:15 AM
Eh, reading fail on my part -- affecting pressure in the eye, not building it up.
Still. Nuts.
Posted by: Luna_the_cat | November 5, 2009 5:18 AM
I don't much care for random high-melanin spots, but I'm already full of freckles and moles. It's not a good sign, since they are from the sun and hyper melanocytes don't bode well for skin cancer risks. Also, I wouldn't want random blue spots, but since I already have random spots, I'd almost prefer they were blue. I painted myself blue a few times as a kid.
But anyway, my point was more that if one's objection to the eyelash product hinges on it being a silly vanity use (which is actually mostly how I feel about how it's being marketed at least), it's equally silly to feel vanity about one's eye color. Or worry over one's spotty, freckled appearance. I'm a polka dotted person and I've accepted that. Not accepting it... well, down that road lies Michael Jackson.
On the other hand, if one's objection lies with putting your eyes at any more risk than they need to be (as Luna_the_cat points out), I can totally understand that. It just amused me that the first comments seemed appearance oriented rather than health oriented.
Posted by: becca | November 6, 2009 9:53 AM