USA Today reports on a study in the Annals of Family Medicine that shows - big surprise - that TV ads for prescription drugs rarely mention risk factors or non-drug treatments.
The paper quotes the study's lead author: "All of the ads … contained elements that we considered problematic. I think consumers should be more skeptical of the pharmaceutical ads than some surveys find they are."
USA Today summarized the main findings:
"•Only a quarter of the ads mentioned causes or risk factors for the condition treated by the drug.
•None of the commercials mentioned lifestyle changes as an alternative to medication (for example, diet and exercise to lower cholesterol), although about a fifth mentioned such changes as an adjunct to medication.
•Only a quarter of the commercials mentioned how common or uncommon the treated disease is.
•Most of the commercials were unrealistic in portraying medication's role in achieving health. The ads showed people who regained complete control of their lives after taking the advertised drug."
The paper also quotes Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. He said the study doesn't reflect changes brought about by his group's "Guiding Principles" for direct-to-consumer advertising. The voluntary guidelines came out about a year after the commercials in the study.
You be the judge: have you seen a big improvement in drug ads over the past year?
Posted by schwitz at January 30, 2007 10:18 AM | TrackBack