WSJ article on finasteride with ZERO mention of side effects

General Discussion Media & Awareness
#1

This WSJ article dated yesterday is in the Style & Fashion section, and currently on the wsj.com home page:

Losing Your Hair? Why This Solution Is No Longer Shameful
Wall Street Journal

Discussing waning manes is suddenly fashionable thanks to new, stigma-free products and evolved attitudes toward thinning tresses
[Embarrassment about hair loss treatments] began to change in 2017 with the introduction of a trio of startup brands—Hims, Keeps and Roman—that talked in refreshingly frank, even witty ways about their products’ potential to help men counteract hair loss. About three years prior, the patent for finasteride (previously held by Merck & Co. in the U.S., which marketed the drug as Propecia) expired, opening the door for these New York-based brands to sell an inexpensive, generic version—at around $20 a month.

There is zero mention of sexual side effects or risks. I have emailed the WSJ journalist. You can also contact him at his email which you’ll find by clicking his byline, or at the bottom of the article. If you do email the journalist, please also cc the WSJ corrections email which is: wsjcontact AT wsj.com

5 Likes
#2

Sent the following, for what it’s worth:

Hello,

There appears to be a glaring absence of mention of the risk of harm in your recent piece in the Wall Street Journal and it almost gives the impression of a one-sided advertisement for online prescription services like HIMS, Keeps, and Roman.

In regards to Propecia, knowledge of the potential risk is especially important considering the manufacturer may have hidden knowledge of persistent sexual side effects from consumers. A recent Reuters expose’ details this:

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usa-courts-secrecy-propecia/

This issue has also been supported by evidence in medical literature:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028219325993

Not only that, but HIMS has been illegally advertising psychotropic SSRI drugs off-label as a cure for premature ejaculation:

https://www.forhims.com/erectile-dysfunction/sertraline

Hopefully, you consider pushing for an edit of the article to include some warning of potentially devastating side effects.

Kind regards,

7 Likes
#3

Glad you mentioned the off-label use of sertraline too. I forgot to mention that I cc’ed wsjcontact AT wsj.com. That’s the WSJ corrections email and I think people other than the author should get this info.

#4

This article was basically an advertisement for the online hair loss industry. It could have even been originated from telemedicine companies hiring PR firms to pitch their story to the WSJ to get the word out. The paper or person who wrote this article will be highly unmotivated to update the article inform about PFS. They just have an opposing agenda here.

2 Likes
#5

Great work.

#6

FAKE NEWS MOTHERFUCKERS… 99% of mainstream media and print is useless GARBAGE!