Whereas natural treatments in general aim to work with the body to heal and correct imbalances, conventional medical drugs are in many cases a "sledgehammer" approach. They are designed to modify, induce, limit and suppress our bodies' natural functions, and force our systems to behave in a certain way. When we choose pharmaceutical drugs, we are in effect saying to our bodies, "I don't care what you think, this is the way it's going to be!" We are also saying "I don't care what the underlying problem is - just make the symptoms go away." Conventional drugs carry, along with their benefits, many and varied risks. Warnings are supposed to inform the consumer of potential hazards that are not obvious. A pill's visual appearance says little about its effects or the hazards that it may contain.

The switch of many prescription drugs to over-the-counter status has increased the importance of label warnings. Many medications that once required a prescription because of high potency or because of high possible abuse are now readily available. At the same time, the switch means that consumers lose the advice of the "learned intermediary" - a physician and pharmacist - who might have counseled them on the drug's use and adverse effects. Today's consumers also have a lower threshold of discomfort and are far more likely to use pills to relieve symptoms that were their parents.

Research shows that consumers frequently ignore warnings and other information printed on the bottle's label. One large-scale survey found that only 16-24% of respondents said that they read OTC drug label information on warnings and side-effects upon first usage. Consumers also frequently ignore instructions on use. Almost half of the survey respondents said that they had exceed recommended dose - if the recommended dose is good, than a larger dose must be better!

A behavioral study found that consumers also pay little attention to warning signs. Only 9% of regular buyers read a posted in-store warning sign about antacid medications. Two surveys have found that a sizeable majority of consumers ignore label warnings to avoid driving after use.

Consumers fail to read and to follow label instructions for several reasons whose roots lie in normal cognitive function. The processing of warnings requires a series of mental processes. At each stage, there are processes that reduced likelihood that drug information will affect behavior.