subject: Direct Client Advertising Raises the Value of Prescription Medication [print this page] Direct Client Advertising Raises the Value of Prescription Medication
When one appearance at tv, a newspaper or a magazine it is impossible to not be inundated with ads for numerous prescription drug medications. This wasn't always the case. In fact, not until 1997, when the FDA issued its guidelines for direct to consumer advertising, did this large pharmaceutical advertising expenditure begin. It would possibly interest some to understand that solely 2 countries in the world enable our brand of direct to consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals: the United State and New Zealand. The amounts of cash concerned are staggering. A study done by the Kaiser Family Foundation in 2006 found that for each greenback a drug company spent on advertising, it earned $four in further sales. Does not sound like abundant, does it? However the important numbers put the impact in prospective. In 1999, simply 2 years after the FDA permitted direct to client advertising in its current type, Pfizer spent 55 million advertising it's cholesterol lowering drug, Lipitor. Sales of Lipitor jumped fifty six% that year to almost $2.half-dozen billion. As advertising spending went up, the quantity of management exercised by the FDA fell. In line with the New England Journal of Drugs, the FDA sent 142 violations letters to pharmaceutical firms in 1997. By 2006 the FDA sent solely twenty one violation letters. As revenues from advertising grew, pharmaceutical firms found new ways that to entice customers to shop for their brand. Celebrity advertising was born. Pfizer ran the currently infamous commercials that includes Dr. Robert Jarvik promoting Lipitor "as a doctor and a father." Because it turned out, Dr. Jarvik was not a licensed medical doctor despite his being the inventor of the factitious heart. Dr. Jarvik did have a medical degree from the University of Utah but once earning a medical degree, physicians must complete a series of tests to earn certification to practice medicine. Reps. John D. Dingell (D-MI), Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Bart Stupak, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, launched an investigation into the misleading effect of the ads on customers which had been approved by the FDA. In February 2008 Pfizer agreed to withdraw the Lipitor advertising and promotions that includes Dr. Robert Jarvik. Rep. Dingell stated that "Pfizer's decision was a wise one, and I am pleased our investigation prompted the removal of Lipitor ads featuring Dr. Jarvik. We have a tendency to trust that Pfizer is sincere in its commitment to 'bigger clarity' in its advertising. My colleagues and I watch for meeting with Pfizer's management team to discuss their plans connected to direct-to-client advertising." The FDA maintains that it continues to oversee direct to consumer advertising by drug companies to insure that ads are truthful balanced and accurate. The Pharmaceutical Research and Makers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading pharmaceutical analysis and biotechnology companies. This trade and lobbying group takes the official position that the purpose of direct to consumer selling is to raise patient awareness of diseases and coverings that may be accessible to treat them. Their studies show that direct to client advertising brings patients into their doctors' offices and starts necessary doctor-patient conversations about health which may otherwise take place. The drug industry is mounting major lobbying campaigns to possess direct to consumer selling allowed in Europe and Canada. The Health Action International (HAI-Europe), in December 2001 set forth their reasoning for continuing to ban direct advertising to customers of prescription drugs. Given the present debate in the United States over health care reform a number of their rationale is sort of relevant. The HAI-Europe gave 4 reasons for continuing the ban on direct to shopper advertising. 1.Direct to client advertising drives up prescription drugs costs, threatening the sustainability of national health care services and universal access to health care as a basic human right. 2. Direct to consumer advertising fails to inform. It will not give the impartial, objective info shoppers and patients need for informed health care decisions. 3. Direct to shopper advertising compromises public safety. It will result in rapid widespread exposure to dangerous drugs before risks are absolutely recognized. Additionally, most new medicine are costlier than existing treatments, however few provide any therapeutic advantage. 4. Direct to client advertising promotes the medicalisation of normal life. The most heavily advertised drugs are for long-term use by massive target audiences, typically for mild conditions and 'lifestyle' problems that will not want drug therapy.
