I’ve long been aware that Sally Field (a.k.a. The Flying Nun, to those of us whose TV roots go back to the ’60s) is a spokeswoman for Boniva. Truth be told, she’s more huckster than spokesperson; her presence on TV and in print ads is near ubiquitous.

But until I started paying attention to osteoporosis, Boniva was just another one of those older-lady drugs whose warnings and unpleasant side effects regularly fill a complete magazine page with fine-print type. Boniva? Prempro? Prometrium?...