Healthy Skepticism Library item: 6744

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

Advertisements for donepezil (Aricept) in the BMJ [Editor's response]
BMJ 1997 May 24; 314:1556
http://bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7093/1555

Abstract:

The BMJ carries advertising to provide financial support to the journal and information to readers. Advertising must be immediately recognisable as such, and we never sell advertising linked to editorial material (unlike many medical newspapers). All advertisements are approved by the editorial team, but as European and British legislation governs pharmaceutical advertising we rarely reject advertisements on the grounds of unsubstantiated or misleading claims. We sometimes reject advertising because we think that readers will find it offensive, but generally our policy is liberal. Readers are well able to tell the difference between advertising and editorial material. Donepezil hydrochloride has received a product licence, and the manufacturer naturally wants to promote it. We monitor all complaints from readers, and this is the first we have received about advertising wrappers despite their having been used intermittently for two years. The wrappers don’t seem to offend many readers.

Keywords:
*letter to the editor/United Kingdom/