Healthy Skepticism Library item: 20070

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: Magazine

Limprecht E
Medical Director ads to be scrutinised
Australian Doctor 2005 Sep 212

Full text:

Every advertisement in the latest version of Medical Director is being reviewed by the Medicines Australia Code of Conduct monitoring committee to see if it complies with the advertising code, after six ads were found to have breached the code last month.

The advertisements were referred to the committee by Dr Ken Harvey, who published research in the
Medical Journal of Australia alleging 95% of ads on Medical Director were in breach of the industry’s self-regulating code.

If the monitoring committee finds evidence of any advertisements contravening the code it will inform the responsible pharmaceutical company, but it is highly unlikely any of the companies will be fined or otherwise reprimanded.

“The monitoring committee writes to the companies but it would be very unusual for the committee to make a complaint,” said Ms Deborah Monk, director of scientific and technical affairs at Medicines Australia.