Healthy Skepticism Library item: 2940
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
Silverman M.
The epidemiology of drug promotion
International Journal of Health Services 1977; 7:157-166
Abstract:
A survey was conducted on the promotion of 28 prescription drugs in the form of 40 different products marketed in the United States and Latin America by 23 multinational pharmaceutical companies. Striking differences were found in the manner in which the identical drug, marketed by the identical company or its foreign affiliate, was described to physicians in the United States and to physicians in Latin America. In the United States, the listed indications were usually few in number, while the contraindications, warnings, and potential adverse reactions were given in extensive detail. In Latin America, the listed indications were far more numerous, while the hazards were usually minimized, glossed over, or totally ignored. The differences were not simply between the United States on the one hand and all the Latin American countries on the other. There were substantial differences within Latin America, with the same global company telling one story in Mexico, another in Central America, a third in Ecuador and Colombia, and yet another in Brazil. The companies have sought to defend these practices by contending that they are not breaking any Latin American laws. In some countries, however, such promotion is in clear violation of the law. The corporate ethics and social responsibilities concerned here call for examination and action.
Keywords:
*content analysis/United States/Latin America/developing countries/commercial compendia/quality of information/safety & risk information/PDR/ Physicians’ Desk Reference/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: COMMERCIAL DRUG COMPENDIA/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: COMPARISON BETWEEN DEVELOPING AND DEVELOPED COUNTRIES/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: DRUG SAFETY/PROMOTION AND HEALTH NEEDS: PROMOTION IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
