Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Paula Deen
(CBS) Since Paula Deen announced she has Type 2 diabetes, she's been a lightning rod for criticism from fellow celebrity chefs, medical experts, and her fans.
"It would be like someone who goes on TV and brags about how wonderful it is to smoke two packs of cigarettes a day and then when he or she gets lung cancer becomes a paid spokesperson for nicotine patches," Judd Dvorak, an avid viewer of Deen's shows from Yuba, Wis. said.
The "Queen of Southern cuisine's" admission also puts the spotlight on ethical questions that surround celebrities who are paid spokespeople for pharmaceutical companies. Deen's admission coincided with the launch of a new partnership with drugmaker Novo Nordisk to promote its Type 2 diabetes drug, Victoza.
Dr. Arthur Caplan, professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania, told HealthPop that celebrity endorsements can raise several ethical questions. Are the celebrities even taking the drugs they're selling? What happens if the drug is found to have side effects? What happens in the case of a recall?
Caplan also said an issue is the drug might not be the best option to help people. When celebrities endorse a medication, they're usually not telling you about the alternative options which are sometimes cheaper and just as effective, he said.
Caplan wondered about celebrities, "Why would we put trust in what they have to say about drugs, devices, or vaccines?" To him, most people who see these commercials aren't going to take it with a grain of salt and call their doctors for more advice.
"I think it drives behavior," Caplan said. "A lot of people clearly get their medical advice from commercials since that's what companies are spending their money on."
But Paula Deen isn't the only celeb to sign an endorsement deal with a pharmaceutical company. Keep clicking to see 9 more notable celebrity partnerships with drug companies...
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Sally Field
In 2006, actress Sally Field started making commercials for Roche and GlaxoSmithKline's Boniva. Field told WebMD she was diagnosed with osteoporosis just shy of her 60th birthday. At first, the Oscar-winning actress tried alternative methods like hormone replacement therapy, but then her doctor switched her to Boniva. Shortly after, Roche and GlaxoSmithKline approached her about being a spokesperson.
"At first I was nervous," Field told WebMD. I thought, this is a big pill - and I worried something bad would happen."
In 2009, Consumer Reports criticized the partnership, saying, "Great spokeswoman, misleading ad." According to Consumer Reports, Boniva had a more convenient dosing schedule with its once-a-month formulation, but was "10 times the cost" and no more effective than cheaper generic biphosphonate drugs
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Larry the Cable Guy
In November of 2011, Larry the Cable Guy teamed up with Procter and Gamble to promote its over-the-counter heartburn medication, Prilosec OTC.
The 48-year-old "git r' dun" comedian - described as a "frequent heartburn suffer and die-hard football fan" - says he takes the drug to deal with the heavy eating that accompanies football season.
"Deep fried, dipped and drenched in sauce - that's the type of food that I serve at my tailgates," Larry the Cable Guy said in a company written statement. "The last thing I want to keep me from enjoying the game is my frequent heartburn.
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Bob Dole
Bob Dole might be best known for running for president in 1996 against Bill Clinton. By 1998, the former senator signed on to promote Pfizer's Viagra pill and spread awareness about erectile dysfunction. It was the first television ad for Viagra, CBS News reported, and the then 75-year-old said he had participated in trials for Viagra and it was a "great drug."
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Phil Mickelson
Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson is a perennial fan-favorite on the PGA tour. But five days before the 2010 U.S. Open, Mickelson "felt intense pain to the point that he could not walk," according to the The Daily News. He was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, an immune disease that targets the joints, causing great pain. Mickelson was prescribed Amgen and Pfizer's Embrel, a once-weekly injection which blocks a protein that causes inflammation.
By 2011, he was endorsing the product.
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Paul and Mira Sorvino
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Bruce Jenner
Before Bruce Jenner was known as the patriarch of the reality television family, the Kardashians, he was an Olympic champion. Jenner won the Gold medal at the 1976 Oympics in Montreal and became an instant celebrity.
By 2000, Jenner was a spokesman for Vioxx, Merck's arthritis drug. But in September 2004, Merck recalled the top-selling drug in one of the largest recalls in history amid fears of a heightened risk of heart attacks.
"I'm not a scientist," Jenner - who had been paid to make media appearances to promote Vioxx - told ESPN in 2004. "We had no idea what was happening behind the scenes. They never told us."
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Robert Jarvik
Dr. Robert Jarvik is known for helping to design the Jarvik-7 artificial heart that was famously implanted into retired dentist Barney Clark in 1982. In 2006, Jarvik began endorsing Pfizer's cholesterol medication Lipitor.
In 2008, Pfizer pulled the ads after facing criticism from a Congressional committee looking into celebrity endorsements. According to the New York Times, Dr. Jarvik was misrepresented in the ads in which he promoted the drug, since he was not actually a cardiologist or licensed to practice medicine. In one scene, Jarvik is seen rowing across a lake but it was an actually a body double, according to the paper.
"The way in which we presented Dr. Jarvik in these ads has, unfortunately, led to misimpressions and distractions from our primary goal of encouraging patient and physician dialogue on the leading cause of death in the world - cardiovascular disease," Pfizer's president of worldwide pharmaceutical operations, Ian Read, said in a statement at the time.
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Barry Manilow
Some celebrities might be spokespeople for pharmaceutical companies, but rather than highlight a specific drug, discuss disease awareness.
In 2011, singer Barry Manilow announced he had atrial fibrillation, a condition that makes your heart beat abnormally out of rhythm. The recording artist who has sold 80 million records told CBS News that he's needed medication and sometimes, electrical cardioversion - or the paddles - to get his heart beating properly.
Manilow's "Get Back in Rhythm" AFib awareness campaign has drawn some criticism since it is sponsored by Sanofi, makers of an Afib drug Multaq.
Paula Deen & company: 10 celebs who help sell drugs
Christina Hendricks
In June, Christina Hendricks signed on to be a spokesperson for Allergan's Latisse for a campaign to raise money for the Make-A-Wish foundation, according to CBS MoneyWatch. Originally a glaucoma drug, Latisse was eventually approved as a cosmetic treatment for darker, thicker eyelashes.
Brooke Shields also endorsed Latisse in 2009, according to Consumer Reports, in a string of ads.