I work at Numan.com, where we sell these exact things. I can't speak to the ad targeting (testosterone deficiency is a fairly rare condition you don't just scattergun), but selling Wegovy or Viagra online can be perfectly legal and medically valid.
It depends on how each pharmacy examines your health, I can definitely imagine that some of them just send you some Viagra without asking too many questions, but with us, Hims, etc you go through a rigorous (and sometimes fairly lengthy, as with testosterone) clinical process to determine your eligibility and risks.
Absolutely. I wasn’t suggesting that any of it is illegal. But it is concerning that ad targeting is potentially being used to make people think they need to be on medications that normally they might not seek out.
E.g. I’m not overweight by any means, but I’m also not 5% body fat. Could wegovy help me get ripped abs? According to these ads, yes! I have actually considered trying it just for the hell of it (and out of curiosity for how it works). But it’s definitely not medically necessary (or recommended) for someone like me, but these companies will advertise and prescribe it to me anyway.
Honestly I don’t think open access to these drugs is necessarily a terrible thing, but the advertising aspect I disagree with. I’m fine with anyone using Adderall for example if they seek it out on their own, but it makes me uneasy to think people are getting prescriptions because of the ads rather than because they were seeking it out on their own.
If it's not medically necessary, we won't prescribe (though I'm sure there are businesses who might).
I get your point, I don't like advertising medications either, but there are some specific cases (like testosterone deficiency!) where someone might be tired all the time, irritable, gaining weight, etc and not realize that these symptoms have a common cause. I agree that these cases are few, though.
> without asking too many questions, but with us, Hims, etc you go through a rigorous (and sometimes fairly lengthy, as with testosterone) clinical process to determine your eligibility
A few years ago now, but with Hims, that was absolutely not the case for me.
It was about a dozen yes/no questions, and then a <5 min text chat conversation with a doctor who told me that 2 of my answers didn't fit for prescription. "If you were to tell me you also had X symptom, then that would be applicable', and effectively allowed me to "change my answer" in the text chat.
The skeptic in me says that companies like this who employ physicians in this manner (there's no insurance/office visit fee, etc.) don't make money by telling people they "don't need" this drug.
It depends on how each pharmacy examines your health, I can definitely imagine that some of them just send you some Viagra without asking too many questions, but with us, Hims, etc you go through a rigorous (and sometimes fairly lengthy, as with testosterone) clinical process to determine your eligibility and risks.