Should Drug Companies Target Patients?

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The controversy over whether governments should allow drug companies to directly target consumers is heating up in Europe. Wendy Garlick of the Consumers’ Association and Trevor Jones of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry debate the issue in this week’s British Medical Journal.

Garlick believes the pharmaceutical industry should not target patients. She says drug companies are designed to sell a product, and therefore are not objective sources for information. Drug representatives will “talk up the benefits and play down the risks,” says Garlick.

A recent survey shows only 25 percent of the public trusts drug companies to provide them with unbiased information. Garlick says, “People are right to be skeptical about pharmaceutical companies’ ability to be responsible information providers.” She believes there should be a central, independent source for information on medicines and treatments that is devoid of commercialism.

Jones disagrees. He believes pharmaceutical companies should play a role in advising the public. “It is no longer acceptable to keep patients in the dark and to expect them to be happy relinquishing control of their healthcare,” he says.

Pharmaceutical companies spend 10 to 12 years developing a new drug. Jones says the knowledge they accumulate during this period gives them an unparalleled advantage when advising others about the treatment. He says pharmaceutical sales is the only field where companies are not permitted to consult with individual customers about the benefits of their products.

The debate in Europe is likely to continue, even if new ruling is made. Currently, all drug companies are banned from directly advertising to consumers. The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow pharmaceutical companies to directly target the public.

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