As one who passionately builds brands for a living, it saddens me when I am forced to bear witness to the downward spiral of a once-strong brand.  The recent troubles faced by Tylenol and other huge brands from McNeil Consumer Healthcare bear witness to the fact that, while the identity of a brand can help bring a product to the heights of popularity, that same identity, when linked to negative events, can bring the product crashing down in the minds of consumers.

Tylenol has a long history of bumps in the road, starting with drug-tampering problems back in 1982, which resulted in the brand being held up as an example of what to do when disaster strikes your product.  Take responsibility.  Take Action.  Don’t make excuses.

The public was reassured by how the Tylenol scare was handled and sales eventually returned to the brand.  Tylenol came to mean a trusted and safe product once again.  And in a market with unimaginable generic competition, that trust went a long way toward making consumers feel like the branded choice was the right choice.

More recent troubles, however, cannot be blamed on nameless and faceless culprits who are threatening the safety of the American public.  This time the responsibility for manufacturing irregularities fall solidly in the lap of McNeil.  There is no denying that they must take responsibility, there is nowhere else to put it.  But the public is not so quick to forgive this time.

Part of the difference is that this time McNeil is truly to blame for the issue.  And the other part of the difference comes from how the world has changed in those intervening 28 years.  In the world of 1982, the news of the recall and corrective action came through formal channels and gossip about the problem was contained within neighborhoods.  In the world of 2010, news of the recall hit Twitter and Facebook long before it made the front pages of the newspaper or local news broadcasts.  Along with the immediacy of informing the public, McNeil was unable to control the message, and unprepared to deal with the fallout.  Their customer service resources were inadequate, their recall website not up to date, their response times were not up to snuff.

So now, in addition to being worried about the threat that recalled medications might hold for their families, people are angry that McNeil isn’t managing the situation as well as they could.  The brand is breaking.

As the process of restocking medicine cabinets with generic versions of McNeil’s recalled drugs is documented in minute detail via social media networks, more and more people see that generics offer safe, cost-effective alternatives to the branded drugs.  The more social proof that consumers see that the generics are just as effective, the more likely they will be to continue to eschew the branded products.  There is no upside of going back to Tylenol or Benedryl.  Those names are tainted with both the manufacturing issues (real or imagined, it makes no difference) and the customer service disappointments.

The bar for what consumers expect from a generic drug is much lower.  Does it work?  Does it cost less than the branded product?  Is it safe?  Customer service and advertising and image don’t enter into the equation for these purposes.

By dropping the ball so many times, McNeil is training consumers to be satisfied with a less impressive package.  It will be interesting to see if they are able to resolve and recover from this current crisis situation.  As surprised as I am to say this, my bets in this case are against the brand.

As the Baby Boomer generation ages, there is a swelling populaton of people suffering from osteoarthritis. Arthritis pain seems to go hand in hand with insomnia, with joint pain keeping awake 60% of those with osteoarthritis

A new study, reported in the Aug. 15 issue of Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, finds that cognitive therapy has a beneficial effect on osteoarthritis patients and insomniacs – assisting them in their quest for a good night’s sleep.

Cognitive behavior therapy for insomnia or CBT-I,was given by an experienced clinical psychologist who taught participants cognitive restructuring techniques that helped change unrealistic beliefs and irrational fears regarding sleep or lack of it.

Handwritten sleep logs kept by participants documented their sleep patterns, and pain level was graded by the Short-Form McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) and the Body Pain Subscale (SF-PAIN) question from the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Pain.

Results showed that after CBT-I treatement, patients were falling asleep faster than before, and remained sleeping approximately 37 minutes longer. CBT-I seems to be an effective tool for treatment of osteoarthritis in conjunction with other pain management techniques, and may also work well with other chronic pain conditions.

Brace yourself – that’s the number of flu shots that may be necessary to protect oneself from the upcoming flu season. Two vaccines will be required for the H1N1 strain (swine flu) and one for seasonal flu.

As of yet, only 45 million swine flue vaccines will be ready by Oct. 15, a far cry from the 120 million doses originally anticipated. Pregnant women, public health workers and small children will be the first to be immunized and this priority group numbers approximately 160 million individuals, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After those considered high-risk are inoculated, U.S. health officials will recommend that people ages 25 through 64 receive H1N1 shots. It is interesting to note that those 65 and older are actually at lower risk of contracting swine flu, since the flu strains they encountered as children provides some protection. As soon as the seasonal flu shot is available it is highly recommended that all seniors get them. Once all those under 65 receive the swine flu vaccine, inoculations will be recommended for seniors.

The vaccine production is moving slower than expected due to the slow growth of the vaccine substance, as well as a shortage of manufacturers available to actually package the vaccine.

“The amount vaccine manufacturers are getting out of millions of eggs is less than expected, and it’s taking longer to make,” explained Dr. John Treanor, professor of medicine and of microbiology and immunology at the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York.

The second delay factor is being addressed by the government who has increased efforts to recruit more companies for packaging.

By Nechama Drillick

Will those stinging booster shots be a thing of the past, fading into oblivion together with walkmans, analog TV and Kodak film? With the advent of a new Band-aid-like painless patch lined with microneedles, our grandchildren may never know the ouch of a needle at an annual checkup.

Scientists have developed a patch that can simply be applied to a patient in place of using hypodermic needles, a big boon to diabetics and others suffering from diseases that require frequent pricks. This was presented at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C.

“If you can move to something that’s as easy to apply as a Band-Aid, you’ve now opened the door for people to self-administer their medicine without special training.” said Mark Prausnitz of Georgia Tech, one of the developers.

This development was enabled by advances in the electronics industry, which has microminimized all forms of technology – opening the door for the creation of needles that are only a few hundred microns long, about the width of a few strands of human hair.

Researchers are hopeful that the patch which will initially be used in a clinical setting could ultimately be self applied at home, replacing many other needle injections – even flu shots!

by Adele Weber
by Adele Weber

Often overlooked, the side-effects of topical creams is more important than credited. Lidocaine is a topical numbing agent frequently used before mammograms. The cream is spread on the skin and allowed to absorb for 45 minutes. It is also used to dull pain from laser hair removal, or any other surgery covering a large amount of skin. Research studies found no side-effects; however, the clinical trial did not have enough of a sample size to account for rare and unusual side effects.

This became apparent when two women spread lidocaine and tetracaine on their legs, covered it in plastic, and left it for 45 minutes. They experiences seizures, fell into comas, and died.

Experts theorize that broken skin or elevated temperature might have raised the amount of the drug entering the bloodstream to toxic levels.

When using topical analgesic, use the minimum amount, and avoid broken skin.

By Edna Milay

A recent study demonstrates a proven way to lower breast cancer risk and occurrence by half.

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not, because a huge proportion of breast cancer cases can be traced to something women voluntarily do: take replacement hormones.

Women who took estrogen and progestin post-menopause to replace hormones doubled their risk for breast cancer. Even more dramatic, when they stopped taking hormones, their risk subsided within two years.

This is not to say that everyone taking hormones should drop them immediately. The risk increases with time, so short-term use is not likely to result in cancer.

By Lydia Yolen

There’s finally good news in the health industry – heart disease and stroke death rates are down down down.

Death rates from coronary heart disease are down 30.7% since 1999, and stroke mortality has dropped 29.2%.

The American Heart Association set a goal to reduce coronary heart disease and stroke death by 25% by 2010, and it seems that they’ve succeeded. But they’re not resting on their laurels. Though death rates themselves are down, the risk factors that lead to death are perilously high, risking a reverse of the downward trend with time.

Age, being male, and genes are not risk factors that anyone can change, but you can try to reduce your risk factors by eliminating the following:

• Smoking
• High cholesterol
• High blood pressure
• Physical inactivity
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Stress
• Birth control pills
• Excessive intake of alcohol