Healthy Skepticism Library item: 20094

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: news

Rodger S
Pharmaceutical adverts
NZ Herald 2000 July 3

Full text:

John Read, of the Auckland University psychology department, should get his facts right. The researched medicines industry acknowledges the prime commercial imperative of pharmaceutical companies to advertise their products, but declares that this can be harnessed to the public good.

There has to be an unsatisfied market for medicines is in disease areas that are under-diagnosed and under-treated.

Medical literature is filled with sober research of the lack of diagnosis and lack of adherence to best-practice treatment guidelines for medical conditions including asthma, diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol and hypertension.

It is, therefore, no surprise to find that of the 17 medicines that have been advertised on television in this country since 1996 almost all of them tackle some aspect of these medical conditions, or hepatitis (a particular problem) or influenza.

The industry has never made unsubstantiated claims about erectile dysfunction, but has referred to Italian and American research that quantifies the overall numbers who will suffer to to some degree at nearly 40 percent of adult men with diabetes, and 52 percent of men aged 40 to 70. Contrary to Dr Read’s assertions, erectile dysfunction is not “almost always” related to psychology or alcohol. Diabetes and heart conditions often play a big part.

As for Prozac, it has never been advertised on television in this country.

Without arguing the merits of Xenical advertising, it has, at the very least, brought obese patients into doctor’s offices seeking help when very few have done do in the past, and obesity often masks or exacerbates underlying medical conditions.

Before Dr Read quotes Dr Mansfield, he should know that Dr Mansfield does not describe himself as a researcher but as a “part-time GP in Adelaide, Australia, and part-time director of the Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing)”. His publication, Healthy Skepticism, is, incidentally, funded by Pharmac.