The Cost of Pushing Pills: A New Estimate of Pharmaceutical Promotion Expenditures in the United States

Gagnon, Marc‐André; Lexchin, Joel

doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.0050001

Cited by 364 publications

(238 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…1 Despite widespread belief by physicians to the contrary, PSRs have been shown to influence prescribing. 2,3 Greater exposure to promotion is associated with higher prescribing volume and costs, and lower quality prescribing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives and Patient Safety: A Comparative Prospective Study of Information Quality in Canada, France and the United States

et al. 2013

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives and Patient Safety: A Comparative Prospective Study of Information Quality in Canada, France and the United States

et al. 2013

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“…Hong et al [8] In order to guarantee the flow of high benefits, pharmaceutical firms reinforce their competitive position by spending enormous amount of resources in marketing activities. In this sense, Gagnon and Lexchin [6] showed that pharmaceutical companies spent in promotion and marketing activities twice as they did in R&D (57,500 million USD versus 29,500 million USD in the USA for the year 2004).…”

Section: Some Side Effects Of Patentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pharmaceutical patents, R&D incentives and access to new drugs: new ways of progress at the crossroad

2011

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“…Drug companies increased their marketing budgets for advertising directly to consumers, particularly for prescription drugs. Prescription drug advertising to consumers totaled $4.8 billion USD in 2009, [1][2][3] well surpassing consumer promotion for nonprescription products at $3.0 billion USD that year. 4 Also over this time period, patients have become viewed more as consumers of health care, emphasizing shared decisionmaking [5][6][7] and self-care.…”

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Content Analysis of False and Misleading Claims in Television Advertising for Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs

Faerber

Kreling

2013

J GEN INTERN MED

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BACKGROUND: False and misleading advertising for drugs can harm consumers and the healthcare system, and previous research has demonstrated that physician-targeted drug advertisements may be misleading. However, there is a dearth of research comparing consumer-targeted drug advertising to evidence to evaluate whether misleading or false information is being presented in these ads. OBJECTIVE: To compare claims in consumer-targeted television drug advertising to evidence, in order to evaluate the frequency of false or misleading television drug advertising targeted to consumers. DESIGN: A content analysis of a cross-section of television advertisements for prescription and nonprescription drugs aired from 2008 through 2010. We analyzed commercial segments containing prescription and nonprescription drug advertisements randomly selected from the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, a census of national news broadcasts. MAIN MEASURES: For each advertisement, the mostemphasized claim in each ad was identified based on claim iteration, mode of communication, duration and placement. This claim was then compared to evidence by trained coders, and categorized as being objectively true, potentially misleading, or false. Potentially misleading claims omitted important information, exaggerated information, made lifestyle associations, or expressed opinions. False claims were factually false or unsubstantiated. KEY RESULTS: Of the most emphasized claims in prescription (n=84) and nonprescription (n=84) drug advertisements, 33 % were objectively true, 57 % were potentially misleading and 10 % were false. In prescription drug ads, there were more objectively true claims (43 %) and fewer false claims (2 %) than in nonprescription drug ads (23 % objectively true, 7 % false). There were similar numbers of potentially misleading claims in prescription (55 %) and nonprescription (61 %) drug ads. CONCLUSIONS:Potentially misleading claims are prevalent throughout consumer-targeted prescription and nonprescription drug advertising on television. These results are in conflict with proponents who argue the social value of drug advertising is found in informing consumers about drugs. O ver the past 15 years, drug advertising to consumers has expanded to encompass more products and more channels. Advertising for prescription drugs has become more prevalent, with more products being promoted directly to consumers through traditional ad media such as magazines and television, plus the internet has become an additional means to connect with consumers for both prescription and nonprescription drugs. Drug companies increased their marketing budgets for advertising directly to consumers, particularly for prescription drugs. Prescription drug advertising to consumers totaled $4.8 billion USD in 2009, 1-3 well surpassing consumer promotion for nonprescription products at $3.0 billion USD that year. 4 Also over this time period, patients have become viewed more as consumers of health care, emphasizing shared decisionmaking 5-7 and self-care. [8][9]...

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The Cost of Pushing Pills: A New Estimate of Pharmaceutical Promotion Expenditures in the United States

Cited by 364 publications

References 4 publications

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives and Patient Safety: A Comparative Prospective Study of Information Quality in Canada, France and the United States

Pharmaceutical Sales Representatives and Patient Safety: A Comparative Prospective Study of Information Quality in Canada, France and the United States

Pharmaceutical patents, R&D incentives and access to new drugs: new ways of progress at the crossroad

Content Analysis of False and Misleading Claims in Television Advertising for Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs

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