Drug Companies Triple Money on Direct-to-Consumer Drug Ads

For anyone who watches television or reads magazines, where ads for prescription drugs have become commonplace, the results of a new study will come as no surprise.

Since the mid-1990s, pharmaceutical companies have tripled the amount of money they spend on advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers.

Despite the huge increase, drug companies continue to direct the overwhelming majority of their advertising spending toward physicians, not consumers. And most direct-to-consumer advertising is concentrated on a few medications.

Still, some physicians and health professionals are concerned that advertising drugs and medical tests directly to consumers interferes with the doctor-patient relationship and may raise medical costs by trumpeting expensive new medications.

Spending on prescription drugs is on the rise and is now the fastest growing portion of healthcare spending in the US.

This increase is due no doubt in part to a rise in the number of effective medications, but "there is widespread concern" that part of the increase is due to advertising of drugs that do not provide better care.

Though broadcast advertising of prescription drugs has been legal for years, guidelines released by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997 clarified the rules for advertising directly to consumers. According to these guidelines, drug companies can fulfill their obligations for informing consumers about prescription drugs by referring in advertisements to four sources of additional information: their doctor, a toll-free number, a magazine or newspaper ad and a Web site.

From 1996 to 2000, spending on these ads more than tripled, rising from $791 million to nearly $2.5 billion.

There has been a dramatic growth in advertising of prescription drugs. Most advertising dollars are spent on television ads.

The big question, of course, is whether advertising leads to improvements in health or unnecessary spending and inappropriate treatment. Unfortunately, according to the Harvard researcher who did the study, there is no solid evidence on the appropriateness of prescribing that results from consumers requesting an advertised drug.

Despite claims by the pharmaceutical industry that direct-to-consumer advertising is educational, the public is often misinformed about these ads, according to Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, of the Public Citizen Health Research Group in Washington, DC.

He points out in an accompanying editorial that one study found that a substantial proportion of people mistakenly believe that the FDA reviews all ads before they are released and allows only the safest and most effective drugs to be promoted directly to the public.

Though a ban on direct-to-consumer advertising would be unconstitutional, Wolfe urges the FDA to increase its control over such ads. He points out that FDA actions to enforce advertising rules have decreased as direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising has mushroomed.

The education of patients -- or physicians -- is too important to be left to the pharmaceutical industry," whose primary aim is to promote drugs.

Public Health Service agencies such as the National Institutes of Health and the FDA, along with medical educators in schools and residency programs, must move much more forcefully to replace tainted drug company 'education' with scientifically based, useful information that will stimulate better conversations between doctors and patients and lead to true empowerment.

Direct-to-consumer medical advertising is not limited to pharmaceutical industry.
Two commonly advertised tests are electron-beam computed tomography (CT) to screen for undetected coronary artery disease and low-dose spiral CT to screen for lung cancer and other malignancies.

For people thinking about paying to have one of these screens, this is not a good way to spend your money."

These tests are perfectly legal, but their benefits for detecting these diseases in low-risk people who have no symptoms have not been proven.

In the meantime, there is a pretty good chance that an abnormal test will be needlessly frightening to you and a negative test will be giving false reassurance.

Doctors do not know what to do with the information these tests provide. This uncertainty is normal, he said, and will be resolved within a few years. In the meantime, there is no reason to throw away your money to enrich entrepreneurs.

What is even more troubling than the unconfirmed accuracy of these tests is that patients must undergo invasive diagnostic procedures to confirm the results. These tests have high false-positive rates, so the results have to be confirmed.

The New England Journal of Medicine February 14, 2002;346:498-505,524-531

DR. MERCOLA'S COMMENT:

Drug companies will spend over three billion dollars this year to advertise their drugs to consumers this year.

That may seem like a bunch of money but it is peanuts compared to their return.

Americans spent will spend over 500 billion dollars on drugs this year, and that does not even include the 100 billion that President Bush is trying to get approved for the Medicare drug benefit program.

500 Billion Dollars.

Does anyone out there really believe that American are getting half a trillion dollars of benefits from these drugs?

Drug companies are not stupid. They have been able to change the rules so they can now market to consumers directly.

It is no wonder why 2/3 of doctor visits resulted in a drug being prescribed.

This is one of the main reasons why spending for prescription drugs is the fastest-growing category of health care expenditures.

It is also one of the major factors contributing to the reason physicians are the third leading cause of death in the US, as they have an over reliance on using drugs as Band-Aids, rather than seeking the cause of the problem.

Fortunately, you do not have to capitulate. This newsletter, and many other fabulous resources that are now available, will help enable you to take control over your own health. One of the most important areas of course is selection of foods that will promote health.

If you haven't already reviewed the eating plan, I would encourage you to do so, as it is one of the foundational pillars of healing.

The other major issue would be to address the root cause of your illness, and in my experience well over 50% of the time this will involve addressing the underlying stress in your life. I have found that EFT is one of the most effective solutions for stress.

Related Articles:

Increased Spending on Drugs is Linked to More Advertising

Medical Journals Aim to Curtail Drug Companies' Influence

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Disclaimer - Newsletters are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola. They are not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and they are not intended as medical advice. They are intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.