Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2826

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

Gould D.
Can we handle modern drugs?
New Scientist 1974 May 23; 62:(899):460-1

Abstract:

(Limited to parts of article dealing with promotion.) Critics of pharmaceutical industry promotion claim that too much money is being spent on various forms of promotion. The reply from a representative of the industry is that it’s no good producing a drug if no one knows about it and he rejects the charge that companies exaggerate claims pointing to the industry’s code of marketing. General practitioners regard the visits by sales representatives as a valuable means of keeping in touch with new developments and they set aside a regular time every two weeks to accept a company’s offer of lunch. General practitioners and doctors in training do not seem to be unduly worried about being influenced by industry promotion and a majority of GPs seem to appreciate the promotional efforts of the industry possibly because this is virtually their only way of keeping up to date with what medications are available.

Keywords:
*analysis/United Kingdom/primary care doctors/value of promotion/industry perspective/source of information/physicians in training/regulation of promotion/sales representatives/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: HEALTH PROFESSIONALS/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: INDUSTRY/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: PHYSICIANS IN TRAINING/ETHICAL ISSUES IN PROMOTION: PAYMENT FOR MEALS, ACCOMODATION, TRAVEL, ENTERTAINMENT/PROMOTION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION: DOCTORS/PROMOTION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION: PHYSICIANS IN TRAINING/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: DETAILING/REGULATION, CODES, GUIDELINES: INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION