A look at Drug Advertisement
Posted: Thursday, May 20, 2010
by Rose-Marie Chaperon
Chaperon Consulting, LLC
One definition of advertising is bringing a product or service to the attention of potential and current customers. Advertising is focused on one particular product or service. Thus, an advertising plan for one product might be very different from that for another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, etc. These days once you open a magazine, there are always some glitzy ads for prescription drugs. Over the past few years, direct marketing of drugs to consumers has exploded. In 1998 drug companies have spent 1.3 billion dollars in advertizing.
There is much debate about whether advertisements for prescription drugs are a pro or con for Americans and their health. Due to a lack of any comprehensive resource designed to weigh the pros and cons of whether prescription drugs should be advertised directly to consumers. Between 1999 and 2000 it is estimated that direct-to-consumer advertising increased retail sales of the 25 most popular drug categories by 12%. The top five were antidepressants, antihyper-lipidemics (cholesterol-lowering), proton pump inhibitors (acid reflux/heartburn), nasal sprays, and antihistamines. For every $1.00 spent on advertising, pharmaceutical retail sales increased by $4.20.
In 2007, the pharmaceutical industry was estimated to be spending $4.8 billion dollars a year advertising prescription drugs directly to the public. In 2008, the sale of prescription drugs was a $291 billion dollar a year business in the United States. As of 2009, the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct to consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal.
There are countless television ads on television these days, ads such as Actonel to treat and prevent postmenopausal osteoporosis. Boniva is for the management of postmenopausal osteoporosis. Cialis is to treat erectile dysfunction which may also cause temporary and permanent blindness. There are pro's and con's to these direct consumer advertisements. The pro's mostly benefiting the drug manufacturers because Direct to consumer advertising of prescription drugs is important and profitable for drug makers. They make over $4.00 for every $1.00 spent in direct to consumer advertising of such drugs (Marc-Andre Gagnon and Joel Lexchin, 2009) . The con's can be harmful to patients. Direct to consumer prescription drug ads harm public health by advocating drug use as a primary response to medical conditions that can often be remedied in other ways such as diet, exercise, stress reduction, and other preventative measures.
Drug advertisement may be a good idea because prescription drug advertisements inform consumers about potential medical conditions they may have and about drugs that could help treat those conditions. Consumers who are better informed about medical issues are more likely to contact their doctors to discuss the condition or related drugs. These ads therefore provide a helpful public health service .it may be good marketing, but it's not good ethics?
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