Healthy Skepticism Library item: 15186

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

Lacasse JR, Leo J.
Consumer Advertisements for Psychostimulants in the United States: A Long Record of Misleading Promotion
Psychiatric Times 2009 Feb 26; 26:(2):
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/display/article/10168/1382819

Abstract:

The prescription of psychotropic medications for children continues to be a controversial area of medical practice. In the United States, academic medical centers, medical researchers, prescribers, and the FDA are all ostensibly committed to the common goal of disseminating accurate information and promoting treatment based on scientific evidence. In the United States, however, medical treatment takes place in the context of legal and pervasive direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). There are concerns about the potential for DTCA to affect public health negatively and to increase health care costs.