Healthy Skepticism Library item: 4219

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

Rennie D.
Editors and advertisements? What responsibility do editors have for the advertisements in their journals
JAMA. 1991 May 08; 265:(18):2394-6

Abstract:

The author rejects the contention by Goldstein that medical journals running advertisements and doctors accepting gifts from industry are equivalent. He does not believe that the presence of advertising influences the selection of articles and that editors rarely have much idea of the contents of ads in their journals or know when certain ads will appear. A gift to a doctor is a direct bribe to influence prescribing habits, while money from journal advertising helps defray the heavy costs of disseminating new and accurate scientific and medical information. Ultimately, the author rejects Goldstein’s suggestions for altering the nature of journal advertising on the grounds that they stem from a belief that doctors are far too gullible to understand that an ad is an ad, and a belief that editors don’t know that they are judged by what they publish.

Keywords:
*editorial/journal advertisements/relationship between medical journals and industry/ad revenue/editorial freedom/ATTITUDES REGARDING PROMOTION: MEDICAL JOURNALS/INFLUENCE OF PROMOTION: PUBLICATION/PROMOTIONAL TECHNIQUES: JOURNAL ADVERTISEMENTS Advertising* American Medical Association Biomedical Research Drug Industry*/economics Editorial Policies* Ethics Interprofessional Relations Periodicals*/economics United States