Healthy Skepticism Library item: 19970

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: news

Naeem S
Direct promotion to patients?
The Network of Association for Rational Use of Medication in Pakistan 1997 10

Full text:

I am enclosing a page from a booklet that is given to GPs by a pharmaceutical company to place in their waiting rooms as a so called “public state”. The booklet encourages patients of depression to take “one capsule of Prozac every day”.

Response: Prozac is an antidepressive drug which should be used only on specialized medical advice. In other countries it is available only on prescription. Among many of its side effects it also includes suicidal ideation. Its promotion by the manufacturers directly to the patients is simply deplorable. It is against WHO’s “Ethical Criteria for Medicinal Drug Promotion” and IFPMA’s (International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association) own Code of Merketing. Through these pages we urge the manufacturers (Lilly) to stop this breach of their own code. We look forward to their response.