Have you ever wondered how effective those prescription drug commercials are? You know the ones — the visuals show happy, active people riding bicycles or strolling through nature, while the voice-over recites a terrifying litany of side effects.

Turns out, they’re pretty effective, here in Seattle and elsewhere.

New survey data from market-research firm Nielsen shows in the past 12 months, a projected 882,000 people in the Seattle metro area — that’s 27% of the adult population — made an appointment to see their doctor because of an ad. The data also shows a projected 319,000 people, or 10% of the adult population, asked their doctor to prescribe them a drug in the past year as a result of an advertisement they’d seen.

In total, a projected 968,000 adults, or 30% of the population in t

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