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More Information on Drug Promotion

Public Citizen Comment on Corrective Ad Study, April 27, 2012
Comments to FDA on Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertisements, February 27. 2012
Letter on Regulation of Direct-to-Consumer Marketing, June 28, 2010
Allergan v. FDA (Can the FDA enforce regulations that restrict the promotion of off-label uses?), December 21, 2009
Article in JLME: DTC Advertising Harms Patients and Should Be Tightly Regulated, September 2009
Comments on Draft Guidance for Industry on Off-Label Promotion of Drugs and Medical Devices, April 21, 2008
Letter Urging Action Against a Campaign Promoting the Unapproved Use of Topiramate (Topamax) for Treating Alcoholics, October 9, 2007
Letter Concerning Pfizer's Television Advertisement for Celebrex, April 9, 2007
Comments on Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Drugs, April 28, 2006
Article in Journal of Public Health Policy: Widespread Drug Marketing Violations Occurred at APA Convention, December 15, 2005
Congressional Testimony on the Impact of Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising on Seniors, September 29, 2005
Public Citizen v. Sorrell (Seeking records on an unapproved use of a drug), August 19, 2005
Letter Urging Action on AstraZeneca's Misleading Crestor Advertising, November 24, 2004
Letter to Local Television Station General Managers and News Directors: Drug Ads Masquerading as News, July 9, 2004
Public Citizen v. FDA (Seeking records on an unapproved use of a drug), February 26, 2004
Comments on FDA Enforcement of Drug Advertising Regulations, October 28, 2002
Comments on First Amendment Issues, September 13, 2002
Letter in the BMJ on Disease Mongering, July 27, 2002
Letter Requesting Ban on the Demonstration of Medical Interventions, July 12, 2002
Letter Urging the Cancellation of "Botox Night", July 9, 2002
Article in NEJM on Direct-To-Consumer Advertising, February 14, 2002
Testimony on Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Advertising, July 24, 2001
Letter on Drug Industry Influence on Medical Residents, April 26, 2001

Article in NEJM on Direct-To-Consumer Advertising

February 14, 2002

Article by Sidney M. Wolfe, M.D., Director, Health Research Group
Direct-To-Consumer Advertising — Education or Emotion Promotion?
New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) 2002;346:524-526.

This article is available to NEJM subscribers on their website www.nejm.com.

SUMMARY

During the past two decades, there has been an irreversible change in the nature of the doctor-patient relationship. Patients are seeking much more medical information and are actively participating in decisions affecting their health. Intruding into this trend has been the rise of direct-to-consumer promotion, which, in its initial thrust, bypasses primary care doctors and other physicians. Although increased access by patients to accurate, objective information about tests to diagnose and drugs to treat illnesses is an important advance, confusion arises when commercially driven promotional information is represented as educational.

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