I have to take a medication for the rest of my life and I have no insurance! The only way I can afford to pay for this medication is by buying it from Canada since in America it costs 60% more. Janet

Have drug ads gotten out of hand?

posted Tue, 26 Apr 2011

We came across an interesting article last week about how big pharmaceutical companies use direct to consumer (DTC) advertising (mainly via drug ads on TV) to increase their drug sales.

Essentially, DTC drug advertising is a means of hoodwinking the public into demanding drugs they don't need. The U.S. is one of only two countries (the other one is New Zealand) in the world that allow drug companies to do DTC ads.

On a related note, the FDA started a "Bad Ad" program last year that was in the news last week as well. The idea of the "Bad Ads" program is that medical personnel can anonymously report drug ads (and pharma sales pitches) that violate FDA rules. But the program has only issued two warning letters in the past year, which raises questions about its effectiveness.

We'd like to know your thoughts on the matter, have drug ads gotten out of hand?

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