<%
' FP_ASP ASP Automatically generated by a Frontpage Component. Do not Edit.
On Error Resume Next
Session("FP_OldCodePage") = Session.CodePage
Session("FP_OldLCID") = Session.LCID
Session.CodePage = 1252
Err.Clear
strErrorUrl = "../../error.htm"
If Request.ServerVariables("REQUEST_METHOD") = "POST" Then
If Request.Form("VTI-GROUP") = "0" Then
Err.Clear
Set fp_conn = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Connection")
FP_DumpError strErrorUrl, "Cannot create connection"
Set fp_rs = Server.CreateObject("ADODB.Recordset")
FP_DumpError strErrorUrl, "Cannot create record set"
fp_conn.Open Application("3_ConnectionString")
FP_DumpError strErrorUrl, "Cannot open database"
fp_rs.Open "Results", fp_conn, 1, 3, 2 ' adOpenKeySet, adLockOptimistic, adCmdTable
FP_DumpError strErrorUrl, "Cannot open record set"
fp_rs.AddNew
FP_DumpError strErrorUrl, "Cannot add new record set to the database"
Dim arFormFields0(4)
Dim arFormDBFields0(4)
Dim arFormValues0(4)
arFormFields0(0) = "country"
arFormDBFields0(0) = "country"
arFormValues0(0) = Request("country")
arFormFields0(1) = "comments"
arFormDBFields0(1) = "comments"
arFormValues0(1) = Request("comments")
arFormFields0(2) = "modify"
arFormDBFields0(2) = "modify"
arFormValues0(2) = Request("modify")
arFormFields0(3) = "send"
arFormDBFields0(3) = "send"
arFormValues0(3) = Request("send")
FP_SaveFormFields fp_rs, arFormFields0, arFormDBFields0
If Request.ServerVariables("REMOTE_HOST") <> "" Then
FP_SaveFieldToDB fp_rs, Request.ServerVariables("REMOTE_HOST"), "Remote_computer_name"
End If
If Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_USER_AGENT") <> "" Then
FP_SaveFieldToDB fp_rs, Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_USER_AGENT"), "Browser_type"
End If
FP_SaveFieldToDB fp_rs, Now, "Timestamp"
If Request.ServerVariables("REMOTE_USER") <> "" Then
FP_SaveFieldToDB fp_rs, Request.ServerVariables("REMOTE_USER"), "User_name"
End If
fp_rs.Update
FP_DumpError strErrorUrl, "Cannot update the database"
fp_rs.Close
fp_conn.Close
Session("FP_SavedFields")=arFormFields0
Session("FP_SavedValues")=arFormValues0
Session.CodePage = Session("FP_OldCodePage")
Session.LCID = Session("FP_OldLCID")
Response.Redirect "../thankyou.htm"
End If
End If
Session.CodePage = Session("FP_OldCodePage")
Session.LCID = Session("FP_OldLCID")
%>
Healthy Skepticism about prescription drug promotion to the public
Action
on prescription drug promotion to the
public
Peter R Mansfield
Healthy Skepticism International News
March
2003 Vol 21 No
3
Home:
www.healthyskepticism.org
Contents:
An inspiring report
This
months edition provides an opportunity to support efforts to limit prescription
drug promotion to the public. Our aim is to support New Zealand to ban
Direct to Consumer Advertising (DTCA) for prescription only drugs. If New
Zealand is successful then that help other governments around the world to
resist pressure to allow promotion to the public. We have been inspired to act on this issue
now by the following major report:
Les Toop,
Dee Richards,
Tony Dowell,
Murray Tilyard, Tony
Fraser, Bruce Arroll.
Direct
to Consumer Advertising
of
Prescription Drugs in New Zealand:
FOR
HEALTH OR FOR PROFIT?
Report
to the Minister of Health supporting
the case for a ban on DTCA.
(95 page PDF file)
New
Zealand Departments of General Practice
Christchurch,
Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland
Schools
of Medicine
February
2003
The
main findings were:
Conclusions
There
is convincing evidence, supported by public and professional opinion, to
justify
a ban of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription-only medicines in
New
Zealand.
There is an urgent need for increased provision of comprehensive and readily
accessible
independent consumer information.
Recommendations
That
the New Zealand government introduce regulations and /or legislation to
prohibit
the advertising of prescription medicines directly to the public, through
print
and broadcast media or any other means.
That the Government establishes an independent medicine and health
information
service free of commercial interest.
A vexatious complaint
One
component of the FOR HEALTH OR PROFIT? report was a survey of New Zealand GPs. Mr. Glen Wiggs,
Executive
Director of the Advertising
Standards Authority responded
to that survey by making a formal complaint of research misconduct against
Professors Toop, Tilyard and Dowell and there was a campaign of criticism in the
public and medical media.
The
complaints were examined by Professor
Donald Evans
who produced a 28 page report and concluded that "After examining the twenty three grounds of the complaint made by Mr. Wiggs
against the Professors I found that none of them succeeded in justifying the
complaint - indeed I noted that they fell very far short of so doing."
He also found the complaints to be "vexatious" against both the
Professors and their Universities.
I
have meet both Professors Toop and Tilyard and have been very impressed with
their integrity and the quality of their work. I have not met Professor
Dowell but I note that he too has an impressive list of publications on Medline.
An opportunity to limit drug promotion
As an international
organisation
should
support New Zealand as best we can against pressure from international
corporations. We
now invite all our supporters to support our New Zealand colleagues by using the
open letter below as a basis to write to the following three key decision
makers:
Rt. Hon Helen Clark, Prime
Minister, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand
Fax is +64 44733579 email: pm@ministers.govt.nz
Hon. Annette King, Minister
of Health, Parliament Buildings, Wellington, New Zealand.
Fax +64 4 495 8445, email: aking@ministers.govt.nz
Dr Karen Poutasi, Director
General, Ministry of Health, 133 Molesworth St, Wellington, New Zealand. Fax
+64 4 496 2340, email karen_poutasi@moh.govt.nz
Options
1. You can use e-mail or print the letter on your letterhead and use fax or
airmail.
2. Feel welcome to modify the letter. Please ensure that you can justify
anything you add. Please be polite.
Writing your own letter will
be more effective but if you don't have time then just copying ours is likely to
be much more helpful than doing nothing.
Please use the form below the
letter to let us know what you decide to do. This is the first time we have
worked this way so we are keen to have feedback.
Our open letter
Dear Prime Minister Helen
Clark and Health Minister Annette King,
Please ban
Direct-To-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Only Drugs.
Please provide world
leadership by banning Direct-To-Consumer Advertising (DTCA).
DTCA wastes money via higher
prices, increased use of drugs that provide less value for money, and
diversion of
funds from more cost effective therapies.
DTCA can damage health by
distorting decision making towards whatever drugs happen to be new and more
profitable at the time.
Companies who make money from
DTCA have produced surveys that suggest that many people have positive
subjective opinions about DTCA. By contrast, there is no objective
evidence of net benefit and there is objective evidence of harm. This
suggests that the positive opinions are not based on complete information.
We note with concern that the
advertising industry has resorted to vexatious personal attacks on
internationally respected doctors including Professor Toop and his colleagues
and fellow authors Professors Dowell and Tilyard. The fact that the
industry is not using valid arguments suggests they may not have any.
The best option is a complete
ban on all forms of prescription drug promotion to the public including
“disease awareness promotion” and public relations techniques such as use of
groups that appear independent but are funded by a drug company.
It is better to meet the
public’s need for information about therapies by funding independent sources
because they can produce information at lower cost that is less biased, better
targeted and more trusted.
By banning DTCA, New Zealand
will lead by example to assist other countries to resist the pressure to allow
DTCA and help ensure that commercial considerations do not take precedence over
people’s health.
I am a supporter of Healthy
Skepticism, an international organisation aiming to improve health by reducing
harm from misleading drug promotion.
For more information about us
or about DTCA please see www.healthyskepticism.org
or contact Dr Peter R Mansfield peter@healthyskepticism.org
Yours sincerely,
[Please insert name,
affiliation and address]
Feedback please
Please
indicate which options you have chosen:
More information
Media
Releases:
Report
Calls For Ban on Advertising Prescription Drugs
16 February 2003
University
public health doctors support call for ban on advertising prescription drugs.
20
February 2003
Clinical
Pharmacologists back drug advert ban.
26 February 2003
Medline
journal articles:
Burton
B.
Ban direct to
consumer advertising, report recommends.
BMJ 2003;326:467 (1 March)
Barbara
Mintzes, Morris L Barer, Richard L Kravitz, Arminée Kazanjian, Ken Bassett,
Joel Lexchin, Robert G Evans, Richard Pan, and Stephen A Marion.
Influence of direct to
consumer pharmaceutical advertising and patients' requests on prescribing
decisions: two site cross sectional survey
BMJ 2002; 324: 278-279.
Healthy
Skepticism DTCA Page
HOME
www.healthyskepticism.org
This Web site has been
kept simple so as to load quickly and be easy to read with any browser.
Add Healthy Skepticism to
your Favourites
Please contact Peter R Mansfield with
questions or comments about this web site.
We also welcome criticism because we believe that a complaint is a gift.
Credits
| Last modified: 18 April, 2003