Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17380

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

Consumers Consider Prescription Drug Advertisements 'Useful,' Survey Finds
California Healthline 2002 Dec 4

Full text:

Most consumers find prescription drug advertisements “useful” and “don’t want limits put on them,” according to a survey conducted by the National Consumers League, the Boston Herald reports. More than half of the 77% of consumers surveyed who viewed prescription ads over the past year said that the ads prompted them to discuss a treatment with their physicians or seek additional information, the survey found. NCL President Linda Golodner said, “With (direct-to-consumer) ads, large numbers of consumers are made aware of medical conditions and treatments that they may otherwise not know exist. But they’re smart. Most recognize that the ads are tools for selling products and evaluate them accordingly.” The FDA plans to release a similar survey on consumer response to prescription drug ads next week (Heldt Powell, Boston Herald, 1/10). A General Accounting Office report released last month found that some pharmaceutical companies have “repeatedly disseminated misleading advertisements” for prescription drugs, and delays in enforcement of federal regulations against the ads have allowed millions of additional U.S. residents to view them. The report also found that the ads have led to a “significant increase” in prescription drug use and expenditures. According to the report, about 8.5 million U.S. residents each year ask for and receive prescriptions for treatments featured in ad campaigns.