Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15079
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
Mintzes B.
Should Canada allow direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs? NO
The Canadian Family Physician 2009 Feb; 55:(2):131 - 133
www.cfp.ca/cgi/content/full/55/2/131
Abstract:
Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs has increased enormously over the past decade in the United States and New Zealand, the 2 countries where it is legal. In 2005, more than $4.2 billion (US) was spent on DTCA in the United States,1 and Americans spent an average of 16 hours watching televised drug advertisements-far more time than they spent with family doctors.
Market research company IMS Health reviewed the returns on investment in DTCA for 49 brands from 1998 to 2003 and found that for “blockbuster” drugs, such as rofecoxib, companies on average obtained $3.66 per dollar invested.2 The key controversy is not whether DTCA stimulates sales, but whether or not this is good or bad for health, health care quality, and total health care costs.
Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs is prohibited in Canada as a health protection measure. Manufacturers cannot advertise prescription-only drugs directly to the public because of their toxicity and the potential for harm from medically unnecessary or inappropriate use. Any debate over DTCA, however, must address enforcement. Despite its illegality, exposure to cross-border and, increasingly, “made-in-Canada” ads is widespread. Just because such ads are allowed in the United States, cross-border DTCA on US cable television is not inevitable. It is technically simple to replace US ads with local advertising. Similarly, “made-in-Canada” DTCA could be prevented under current laws-the question is one of political will. Succumbing to heavy pressure, Health Canada reinterpreted a 1975 price advertising regulation to allow one type of DTCA, branded “reminder” advertising, in 2000.3
