Drug Ads Make Researchers Sick

A new study "funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and
published in the Jan. 29 Annals of Family Medicine, claims the $4.5
billion" direct-to-consumer drug ad (DTC) industry "produces ads
that are more emotional than informational, and may be convincing
Americans that they're sicker than they really are," reports
Advertising Age. Lead author Dominick Frosch said, "DTC ads send the
message that you need drugs" for problems "that many people used to
manage without prescription drugs." Former Food and Drug
Administration Commissioner Dr. David Kessler warned that
advertising drugs "based on their emotional appeal is something that
has great risks." The study found that 95 percent of DTC ads made
"emotional appeals," 78 percent "implied that use of the medication
would result in social approval," and only 25 percent included
information about illness prevalence. The Association of National
Advertisers and the Coalition for Healthcare Communications, an
industry group, expressed reservations about the study.

SOURCE: Advertising Age, January 31, 2007