Healthy Skepticism Library item: 17882

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

Gottlieb S
Congress criticises drugs industry for misleading advertising
BMJ 2002 Dec 14; 325:(7377):1379
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/325/7377/1379/a

Abstract:

Some companies have disseminated misleading advertisements for prescription drugs, even after being cited for violations, a report issued by the US Congress says.

Congressional investigators, from the independent General Accounting Office, also said that drug advertising seemed to produce a major increase in the use of prescription drugs. The study estimated that at least 8.5 million Americans each year request and receive prescriptions for specific drugs after seeing or hearing advertisements for those products.

Among the drugs cited in the report for misleading advertisements were Flonase (fluticasone propionate), an allergy drug produced by A&H (Allen and Hanbury’s), and Actonel (risedronate sodium), a drug for osteoporosis, made by Procter and Gamble.

Senator Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who was one of five members of Congress who requested the study, said: “The evidence suggests that consumers are paying a lot of attention to these ads, so it’s imperative that they be accurate. If . . .