The group Public Citizen told U.S. Senators this week that the adverse effects of direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising outweigh the still-undemonstrated, theoretical benefits of the ads, and the federal government should do more to stop misleading ads from reaching consumers.
Public Citizen reports that "One of the more astounding DTC advertisements was produced by Galderma Laboratories, the makers of the prescription acne medication Differin. Broadcast both on the Internet and on MTV, the advertisements promise free music downloads to teens who coax their parents into taking them to the doctor and securing a Differin prescription. Teens who persuade their parents to secure a prescription get seven free downloads; a refill gets them 10 free downloads."
MP3 downloads for a medicine purchase? This sounds like purchasing cereal to get a magic decoder ring! Please. Drug companies don't have to stoop to this level to market their product.
Posted by: John J at February 22, 2006 04:31 AM