Direct-To-Consumer (DTC) Drug Advertising

Work Cited

• AAPA. "AAPA News." AAPA. American Academy of Physician Assistants, Mar. 2012. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.
• Bell, Robert A., Richard L. Kravitz, and Michael S. Wilkes. "Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Advertising and the Public." Journal of General Internal Medicine. Blackwell Science Inc, Sept. 2006. Web. 8 Nov. 2015.
• Calfee, John E. "Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs." AEI. American Enterprise Institute, 9 July 2001. Web. 7 Nov. 2015.
• FDA. "U.S. Food and Drug Administration." The Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Advertising. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 10 Oct. 2014. Web. 4 Nov. 2015.
• FDA. "U.S. Food and Drug Administration." Prescription Drug Advertising: Questions and Answers. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Nov. 2015. Web. 7 Nov. 2015.
• Ventola, C. Lee. "Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising: Therapeutic or Toxic?" Pharmacy and Therapeutics. MediMedia USA, Inc., Oct. 2011. Web. 7 Nov. 2015.

Conclusion

• DTCA of Phamaceutical Drugs is a major issue in the U.S
• Companies have continued to take advantage of these ads to help them make more money.
• Health should never be sacrificed for money
• It is necessary to Ban these advertisements because the harm of these advertisements outweigh the benefit .

Counter Arguments

• Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug ads encourage people to seek medical advice from health professionals.

• DTC prescription drug ads inform patients about diseases/medical conditions and possible treatments.

Problems

• Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads misinform patients

60% of claims made in DTC prescription drug ads aired from 2008 to 2010 "left out important information, exaggerated information, provided opinions, or made meaningless associations with lifestyles" (Bell 1).

• Health care professionals feel pressured

"Many physicians felt some pressure to prescribe something when patients mentiond DTC ads" (FDA 1).

• Increase healthcare costs

"78% of doctors surveyed agreed that DTC prescription drug

ads increased the cost of helath care" (Calfee 1).

Thesis

There are many issues with DTCA of Pharmaceutical drugs, and they are caused by low regulation and companies sharing only preferable information for their success. The best way to solve this is to ban these advertisements.

What is Direct to Consumer Advertisng of Pharmaceutical drugs?

Pharmaceutical

Drug Advertisement

Direct-To-Consumer Advertising(DTCA) of Pharamaceutical Drugs

Solution

• Ban Direct to Consumer Advertisements on Pharmaceutical Drugs.

"Every country except U.S and New Zealand have banned DTCA" (AAPA 1).

• Create public campaigns to inform consumers by giving unbiased information about drugs.

Cause

• Advertisements are biased and show a certain perception of the drug .

"DTCA of pharmaceutical drugs is primarily emotional in style and understates the adverse side-effects and as such is misleading"(AAPA 1).

• Due to the decrease in FDA regulations, Pharmaceutical companies have increased advertisements for their drug.

“DTCA of pharmaceutical drug has grown exponentially since the FDA eased advertising requirements in 1997, making it easier for companies to launch mass media ad campaigns” (Ventola, MS 1).