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Prescription Drug Ads - Pros & Cons - ProCon.org Skip to content More Issues About Us FAQs Teachers’ Corner $0.99 /Month Join Prescription Drug Ads Should Prescription Drugs Be Advertised Directly to Consumers? Last updated on: 10/23/2018 | Author: ProCon.org The US pharmaceutical industry spent $6.1 billion on advertising prescription drugs directly to consumers in 2017. Since 1962 these ads have been regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to ensure that they are not false or misleading. The United States and New Zealand are the only two countries where direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of prescription drugs is legal. Proponents of DTC prescription drug ads contend that the ads inform patients about diseases and possible treatments, encourage people to seek medical advice, help remove stigma associated with medical conditions, and provide needed sales revenue to fund costly research and development (R&D) of new drugs. Opponents contend that DTC drug ads misinform patients, promote drugs before long-term safety-profiles can be known, medicalize and stigmatize normal conditions and bodily functions like wrinkles and low testosterone, waste valuable medical appointment time, and have led to our society’s overuse of prescription drugs. Read more background… Pro & Con Arguments Pro 1 Direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug ads encourage people to seek medical advice from health professionals. 64% of physicians surveyed in Apr. 2013 agreed that DTC ads encourage patients to contact a health professional. [ 42 ] A 2010 Prevention Magazine survey reported that 29 million patients talked to their doctors about a medical condition after seeing DTC prescription drug ads and most discussed behavioral and lifestyle changes; over half of those patients received non-prescription or generic drugs rather than the brand-name prescription drug seen in the ad, meaning that talking to the doctor was the real benefit. [ 32 ] Patients with lower incomes and education levels who are less likely to seek medical care in general were more likely to see a doctor after seeing DTC prescription drug ads. [ 44 ] A 2005 Journal of Family Practice article found that 83% of prescription drug print ads focused on patient-physician communication and 76% promoted dialogue with health care professionals. [ 40 ] According to a 2004 FDA survey, 77% of people said DTC ads increased awareness of new drugs and 58% thought the ads gave enough information to help them decide whether to speak to a doctor. [ 43 ] 73% of doctors thought patients asked thoughtful questions because of DTC ads and about 33% of patients thought of a question to ask their doctors as a result of a DTC drug ad. [ 43 ] Read More Pro 2 DTC prescription drug ads inform patients about diseases/medical conditions and possible treatments. 44% of patients responding to a 2007 survey published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research said DTC prescription drug ads helped educate them about drugs, medical conditions, and treatments. [ 44 ] An Apr. 2013 FDA survey found that 48% of doctors agree that DTC ads "inform, educate, and empower" patients. [ 45 ] The FDA requires that benefits and risks of drugs be included in ads to inform patients. [ 36 ] Read More Pro 3 DTC prescription drug ads encourage patient compliance with treatment instructions. 81% of doctors surveyed for a 2007 article published in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research thought DTC prescription drug ads had a positive impact on patient compliance (taking drugs as directed). [ 44 ] The most compliant group of prescription drug takers were patients who requested a prescription as a result of having seen a DTC ad. [ 46 ] 18% of people responding to a FDA survey said DTC ads reminded them to take their medications. [ 43 ] Read More Pro 4 Diseases and medical conditions are more likely to be treated when consumers see DTC prescription drug ads. According to a 2004 FDA survey, 88% of the physicians who had patients ask about drugs seen in DTC ads reported that the patients had the conditions the drugs treat and were thus able to get treatment. [ 43 ] For example, Procrit is a drug used to counteract anemia and can be used to help chemotherapy patients with fatigue. Prior to an ad campaign for the drug, it was rarely prescribed because chemotherapy patients were not reporting fatigue caused by the chemotherapy to their doctors. After seeing the ad, however, patients reported fatigue and could be appropriately diagnosed. [ 46 ] In 2007 the FDA approved a drug for fibromyalgia, a condition that previously had no drug treatment, so patients with the condition were made aware of a possible treatment through DTC prescription drug ads and could speak to their doctors in order to receive treatment. [ 29 ] Read More Pro 5 DTC prescription drug ads help remove the stigma associated with certain diseases and medical conditions. According to a 2013 CMI/Compass survey, 52% of physicians agree that DTC ads help remove stigma associated with health conditions. [ 45 ] The removal of stigma makes it easier for patients to acknowledge their health issues and feel comfortable discussing their health problems with physicians and others. [ 31 ] The advertisements for Viagra , for example, have made male sexual dysfunction and treatment commonplace. [ 30 ] Ads for drugs treating mental illnesses like depression has contributed to de-stigmatizing those conditions, which have helped patients get treatment. [ 31 ] Read More Pro 6 DTC prescription drug ads create revenue for drug companies, which can be used for research & development (R&D) to create new life-changing drugs. Drug development is expensive so pharmaceutical companies need to recoup that expense through advertising. For every $1 spent on DTC ads, sales of prescription drugs rose by $4.20. [ 35 ] In 2012, the pharmaceutical industry spent $3.1 billion on direct-to-consumer advertising. [ 47 ] On average, drug development for a single drug costs at least $4 billion and as much as $11 billion. [ 33 ] Drug companies that develop new drugs have a period of market exclusivity before generic drugs can be made by any company. [ 34 ] Revenue is needed to recoup R&D costs before generic drugs enter the marketplace and lower the prescription drugs’ retail prices. Read More Pro 7 DTC prescription drug ads should be allowed as protected free speech. Doctors, hospitals, medical device makers, insurance companies and all types of health care-related companies can advertise their products. Prescriptions drug companies should be allowed to advertise their legal, FDA-approved, life-improving products too. Uwe Reinhardt, PhD, Professor of Political Economy, Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University, in an Oct. 9, 2002 interview with Frontline , stated: "There is the First Amendment. You make new products. Why can't you tell people about it? Why should that industry be forbidden to do it, when the auto industry can advertise SUVs? Right? You can ask yourself." [ 57 ] In 1975 in Virginia State Board of Pharmacy v. Virginia Citizens Consumer Council, Inc., the US Supreme Court (7-1) found that "a State may not suppress the dissemination of concededly truthful information about entirely lawful activity, fearful of the information's effect upon it disseminators and its recipients" when considering whether Virginia could prevent prices from being included in DTC prescription drug ads. [ 37 ] Read More Con 1 Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug ads misinform patients. 63% of physicians surveyed in Apr. 2013 believed DTC prescription drug ads misinformed patients and 74% of physicians believed DTC prescription drug ads overemphasized the benefits of the drugs, resulting in misinformed patients. [ 42 ] According to a study published in the Sep. 2013 issue of Journal of General Internal Medicine , 60% of claims made in DTC prescription drug ads aired from 2008 to 2010 "left out important information...