Pharmaceutical Advertising to Consumers: Corporate Profits vs. Public Safety

Abstract

In 1997, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) restated its position on direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical products, for the first time allowing the broad marketing of prescription drugs through media such as television. In 2003, pharmaceutical companies spent an estimated $3.2 billion on advertising campaigns targeting American con sumers.1 In just six short years, the pharmaceutical advertising industry shifted from being virtually nonexistent to become the tenth largest adver tising category in the United States.2 For the companies footing the bill for these advertisements, however, this money needs to be recouped through higher and higher sales revenues. Add to this the average $800 million it costs to bring a new drug to market, and pharmaceutical companies find themselves under intense pressure to produce the latest and greatest "blockbuster" drug simply to cover their enormous R&D and marketing costs.3 The pharmaceutical industry and other proponents of direct-to consumer advertising claim that the FDA's loosening of its restrictions in 1997 has produced a more informed public and saved countless lives through early disease detection and prevention, even though some industry analysts point to less altruistic motives, such as immense pressure from drug makers who could see the money to be made with television advertising.4