Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15078

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Wong-Rieger D.
Should Canada allow direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs? YES
The Canadian Family Physician 2009 Feb; 55:(2):130 - 132
www.cfp.ca/cgi/content/full/55/2/130

Abstract:

It is time to end the debate in Canada. The greater risk to Canadian patients is not the drug advertisements from American-sourced media, but rather the lack of access to prescription drug information. As a patient advocate, a mother of 2 children with health conditions, and a wife of someone with multiple chronic conditions, I know the frustration of trying to get information about new therapies. In Europe, where similar barriers exist, a survey of 268 nonprofit patient organizations found that one-fifth of respondents reported they could “never” access high-quality prescription drug information, three-fifths said they “sometimes” could, while only 13% said they “always” could.1

In Canada, the discussion of direct patient access to drug information has been derailed by the debate over US-style advertising. Critics often extend concerns with direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) to direct-to-consumer information, despite the lack of evidence.2