John Oliver came back on air on Sunday, focusing one of his trademark monlogues on drug companies’ lobbying blitz against America’s doctors.
According to the host of “Last Week Tonight,” drug companies spend roughly $24 billion on marketing directly to doctors, six times more than they spend pitching to consumers.
“One analysis claimed that in 2013, nine out of the top ten drug makers spent more on marketing than they did on research,” Oliver said.
“Drug companies are a bit like high school boyfriends,” he said. “They’re much more concerned with getting inside you than being effective once they’re in there.”
Later in the segment, Oliver focused on some of the perks doctors get through being courted by drug reps looking to hook hospitals on their products.
“Free lunch, every day,” Oliver said, giving an example of what drug reps bring to doctors. “Now, that might not seem like a big deal, but think about it: Lunch, is awesome.”
“If Charlie Manson brought me a free lunch every day, I’d at least listen to his sales pitch on forehead swastikas.”
Watch the clip, courtesy of HBO:
