Healthy Skepticism Library item: 16354

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: Electronic Source

Defense Is Getting Old!
DTC-In-Perspective 2009 Aug 29
http://dtcperspectives.com/blog/?p=136

Full text:

Ok, let me try the DTC defense one more time. This week two critiques of DTC appeared in the press. One is from The Huffington Post by well-known natural remedy doctor and author Andrew Weil. The other is by The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank.

First let me critique Dr. Weil’s piece. He basically argues we overuse Rx drugs when natural treatments are readily available. It is of course very convenient to advocate natural remedies over Rx drugs. Everyone loves the word natural and would not any sensible person prefer the natural remedy? No, the sensible person knows many of the natural remedies have no firm clinical proof of efficacy. In fact, much of the natural remedies are downright dangerous with unproven doses and numerous toxic side effects. Anthrax is natural, so is plague, and radioactivity.

If all these natural products worked so well then GNC stores would be bigger than Wal-Mart. Some natural remedies do work but most have no firm clinical study evidence or FDA seal of approval. Some get withdrawn after discovery of toxic side effects. Many are taken in absurd doses and are just expensive snake oil.

Dr. Weil also resents the use of actors to give information on drugs. He cites Sally Field as an example of an actor misleading women. I guess Dr. Weil does not know that every DTC statement must be in the drug label and approved by FDA. It does not matter whether a doctor or actor says the lines.

Dr. Weil thinks drug ads make consumers think there is a pharmacological solution to all ailments rather than changing lifestyle. Drug companies do not control peoples’ lifestyle choices. Should we not have treatments hoping instead for better lifestyle habits? I agree consumers are their own worst enemies in poor diet and exercise habits? Would banning DTC change that? Is DTC somehow preventing people from living a better lifestyle?

He also says advertised drugs have side effects and are sped to market because of political interests. Do you have any proof of that sir? Yes, some drugs are found to have additional side effects post market. That is true of many remedies, especially unregulated natural ones. Bad drugs do make it to market but we must accept some risk to get the good drugs out in a timely manner.

Finally he says ads circumvent better sources of information and are too emotional to provide useful information in 30 seconds. DTC is designed to get people to investigate further, nothing more. Millions of consumers use more detailed resources as a follow-up to that TV ad.

Dr. Weil also wrongly says DTC gives a 4 to 1 return on investment. That is from one outlier study done about 5 years ago. Many more studies say DTC is much less effective and gets a 2 to 1 return. Those studies are updated every year and have been consistent in ROI analysis. Most critics fail to put DTC in the context of how little influence it has on increasing sales. Drug companies do it because it has a good return not because it is the driver in building brands.

The second piece covers much of the same ground. The Century Foundation does not like DTC because they see it as too influential in drug decisions and assume that DTC has contributed to rising health care costs. I have debunked that myth many times but no critic wants to hear that reality.

The article also does not like the “hawking of drugs” in a brief television ad. They claim the implied FDA endorsement is making consumers trust the ads too much. Of course they forget to mention consumers cannot buy Rx drugs directly and their doctor must agree to write it.

I also heard Howard Dean in a town meeting on health reform say he does not like DTC. He was pandering to popular sentiment that drug ads must be raising drug costs. He did say drug companies’ products provide good cost/benefit. Somehow that positive feeling for drugs does not translate to publicizing them. Somehow that is a contradiction, Dr. Dean.

So, my colleagues, we have a lot of work to do debunking myths about DTC. Somehow DTC has caused, in critics minds, a vast increase in health care costs. That $4 billion sure can cause that $2.4 trillion to soar. That would take about 100 to 1 ROI versus the real number of 2 to 1. Sorry critics but you just do not have facts to make your case. Instead you rely on anecdotes about offensive ED ads or phony claims that DTC ads make false statements. I will keep trying to set the record straight but DTC remains a favorite target.