Healthy Skepticism Library item: 3562

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

Lexchin J.
Pharmaceutical promotion in New Zealand.
Community Health Stud 1988; 12:(3):264-72

Abstract:

Pharmaceutical companies currently spend over $17 million annually in New Zealand promoting their products with the aim of increasing sales and therefore profits. Although the industry has a code regulating advertising the code is both weak and voluntary and is routinely violated. Increasingly, pharmaceutical companies are funding medical conferences, continuing medical education and clinical trials. While these activities sometimes contribute to furthering practitioners’ education often they are merely promotional exercises. The companies have also taken to promoting their products through the public media. Detailers’ expenses account for over 60 percent of all promotional spending, but their activities are not subject to any regulation. Advertisements in journals routinely leave out significant prescribing information and also violate provisions of the industry’s code. Although the industry claims that the information transmitted in advertising helps promote better prescribing there is disturbing evidence that New Zealand practitioners are overly dependent on the pharmaceutical industry for information about medicines and that this dependence has lead to less appropriate prescribing. Reforms to the promotional practices are unlikely to come from either the medical profession or the government. The most hopeful avenue of reform lies in the growing consumer movement, both within New Zealand and internationally.

Keywords:
*analysis/New Zealand/promotion costs and volume/Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (NZ)/regulation of promotion/Department of Health/sponsored symposia & conferences/continuing medical education/corporate funding/ press conferences and releases/ drug company sponsored research/ sales representatives/ journal advertisements/ quality of information/ quality of prescribing/ direct mail/ drug samples/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: DETAILING/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: DIRECT MAIL/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: JOURNAL ADVERTISEMENTS/EVALUATION OF PROMOTION: SAMPLES/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PRESCRIBING, DRUG USE/PROMOTION AS A SOURCE OF INFORMATION: DOCTORS/PROMOTION DISGUISED: CONFERENCES AND MEETINGS/PROMOTION DISGUISED: PRESS CONFERENCES AND PRESS COVERAGE/PROMOTION DISGUISED: SUPPORT FOR CME/REGULATION, CODES, GUIDELINES: INDUSTRY SELF-REGULATION/VOLUME OF AND EXPENDITURE ON PROMOTION Advertising/economics Consumer Participation Drug Industry/economics* Drug Information Services Humans Legislation, Drug New Zealand