Argument166，一个很无厘头的题目，四天！！

shadow1987UID: 2605840

TOPIC: ARGUMENT166 - The following appeared in a local newspaper.

"People should not be misled by the advertising competition between Coldex and Cold-Away, both popular over-the-counter cold medications that anyone can purchase without a doctor's prescription. Each brand is accusing the other of causing some well-known, unwanted side effect: Coldex is known to contribute to existing high blood pressure and Cold-Away is known to cause drowsiness. But the choice should be clear for most health-conscious people: Cold-Away has been on the market for much longer and is used by more hospitals than is Coldex. Clearly, Cold-Away is more effective."
WORDS: 334        TIME: 00:30:00        DATE: 2010-8-6 16:41:30

In this argument, the author recommends that people should not be misled by the advertisement between two popular OCT medication producers, Coldex and Cold-Away, and concludes that Cold-Away is more effective. To bolster his view, the author points out the fact that Cold-Away has been on the market for much longer time than Coldex, what is more, Cold-Away is used by more hospitals than is Coldex. However, I find this conclusion dubious on several grounds.

In the first place, the author suggests that we should not be misled by the advertising competition, and however, the author fails to provide the reason. Without the evidence to testify the reliability of these two companies assertion, it is hastily for the author to draw the conclusion that the two companies are misleading the consumers. Perhaps, their condemnations are justifiable and their consumers should be aware of the side-effect of the medication produced by these two companies.

Secondly, the mere fact that Cold-Away has been on the market for much longer than Coldex does not necessarily mean Cold-Away is more effective.Since the author provides no detail about these two companies, it is awfully possible that the Cold-Away's medication was produced earlier than Coldex. According to the common sense, the new medications usually are more effective than the old ones, hence, perhaps Coldex is more effective and Cold-Away's products are out-of-date already.

Moreover, the other reason for the author assumes that Cold-Away is more effective is that Cold-Away is used by more hospitals than is Coldex. Yet, there is no sufficient evidence to substantiate this assumption. Perhaps, the Cold-Away's medication is cheaper but less effective, and the local hospitals place more value on the expense than the effectiveness. Therefore, Cold-Away has occupied more market shares. Conversely, the Coldex's products are expensive but very effective, unfortunately, they have not been chosen by hospitals due to the high price. Or perhaps, the Cold-Away owns the advantage in the quantity of hospitals but the Coldex owns the advantage in the "quality" of hospitals. Many small hospitals prefer to choose the Cold-Away's products because of the Cold-Away would give the managers certain rebates; oppositely, this phenomenon would not happen in big hospitals, and those bigger hospitals all prefer to choose Coldex's products.

To sum up, the author's conclusion is based on a series unsubstantiated assumptions which render the conclusion unconvincing as it stands. To provide a more convincing conclusion, the author should firstly provide evidence to defeat the authenticity of two companies’ assertions. Secondly, the author should prove the existing of linkage between the medication’s effectiveness and the the time for they being on the market. Additionally, there need a thorough study about the usage of these two companies’ medication in hospitals.