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. 2006 Mar;3(3):e145.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.0030145. Epub 2006 Mar 28.

What are the public health effects of direct-to-consumer drug advertising?

Elizabeth A Almasi  1 , Randall S Stafford, Richard L Kravitz, Peter R Mansfield
Affiliations

What are the public health effects of direct-to-consumer drug advertising?

Elizabeth A Almasi et al. PLoS Med. 2006 Mar.

Abstract

Only two industrialized countries, the United States and New Zealand, allow direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines, although New Zealand is planning a ban. The challenge for these governments is ensuring that DTCA is more beneficial than harmful. Proponents of DTCA argue that it helps to inform the public about available treatments and stimulates appropriate use of drugs for high-priority illnesses (such as statin use in people with ischemic heart disease). Critics argue that the information in the adverts is often biased and misleading, and that DTCA raises prescribing costs without net evidence of health benefits.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: RSS has received current or past research funding from Merck and Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, and Proctor and Gamble. Speaking honoraria and travel expenses have been provided by Merck and Company, Bayer, and GlaxoSmithKline. This research has been supported by a Stanford University Presidential Scholars Award (EAA) and a research grant from the United States Agency for Health-care Research and Quality (R01-HS013405) (EAA, RSS).

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