Knowledge Shot: Direct to consumer advertising

At some point, you’ve probably seen a commercial with green meadows, sunshine, and smiling attractive people, celebrating a prescription drug!

The ad usually suggests that you “ask your doctor today about” that drug, before rattling off a long list of side effects.

These kinds of advertisements are a form of direct-to-consumer advertising, or DTCA, which means that the ad comes directly from pharmaceutical companies and is directed at consumers like you and me.

Although it may feel normal, DTCA is currently only legal in two countries; the United States and New Zealand. In the United States, DTCA of prescription medications took off in 1997, when the FDA eased restrictions.

Now, the pharmaceutical industry spends over $5 billion annually on DTCA. There are two major views on DTCA.

Some people believe the ads are perfectly ethical because they simply inform the public of available treatment options for diseases.

Conversely, many others believe that the commercials serve to convince people, who aren’t trained in medicine, to request expensive, and often risky and unnecessary treatments.

What’s your view? If you’re interested in clinical pharmacology check us out on Osmosis.org where you can access our high-yield pharmacology playlist.