Advertising Of Medicines Research Articles

Ethical quandaries in spiritual healing and herbal medicine: A critical analysis of the morality of traditional medicine advertising in southern African urban societies

This paper critically examines the morality of advertising by practitioners in spiritual healing and herbal medicine heretofore referred to as traditional medicine, in southern African urban societies. While the subject of traditional medicine has been heavily contested in medical studies in the last few decades, the monumental studies on the subject have emphasised the place of traditional medicine in basic health services. Insignificant attention has been devoted to examine the ethical problems associated with traditional medicine advertising. Critical look at the worthiness of some advertising strategies used by practitioners in traditional medicine in launching their products and services on market thus has been largely ignored. Yet, though advertising is key to helping traditional medicine practitioners' products and services known by prospective customers, this research registers a number of morally negative effects that seem to outweigh the merits that the activity brings to prospective customers. The paper adopts southern African urban societies, and in particular Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe as particular references. The choice of the trio is not accidental, but based on the fact that these countries have in the last few decades been flooded with traditional medicine practitioners/traditional healers from within the continent and from abroad. Most of these practitioners use immoral advertising strategies in communicating to the public the products and services they offer. It is against this background that this paper examines the morality of advertising strategies deployed by practitioners in launching their products and services. To examine the moral worthiness of the advertising strategies used by traditional medical practitioners, I used qualitative analysis of street adverts as well as electronic and print media. From the results obtained through thematic content analysis, the paper concludes that most of the practitioners in traditional medicine lack both business and medical ethics. That said, the paper urges practitioners to seriously consider the morality of their adverts as in most cases they (adverts) do more harm than good. Further to that, the piece recommends the governments of the affected countries to put in place stringent measures to address this mounting problem.

Medicine advertisements: evaluation and implementation of cema-community method

Non-prescription medicines are advertised widely to general public. These advertisements attempt to influence consumers’ choices about medicines. Since the advertisements rare to give objective information, therefore it may affect people’s perception and have potential harmful effect for public health. In order to improve the use of medicines by general public, the CEMA-community (Critical Evaluation Medicine Advertisement by the community)) was proven effective empower community in evaluating medicine advertisements. The objectives of the study, therefore, were to investigate medicine advertisements, and improve knowledge and skills of participants in critically evaluating medicine advertisements. Medicine advertisements running within the period of study were evaluated and analyzed according to the Indonesian legal requirements. Community empowerment to improve participants’ knowledge and skills was conducted using CEMA-community method. The method consisted of two activites, the first was a brief lecture and the second was small group discussions in a problem-oriented approach. Data on knowledge was obtained by questionnaire. Data on skills was assessed by the number of inappropriate claims they could identify the advertisements. All data was collected at baseline, immediately, and one month after intervention. Medicine advertisements in television media accounted for 15% off all commercials, with 21.53%; 17.98%; 14.17%; and 10.08% being medicine products for influenza, analgesic/antipyretic, supplement, and cough, respectively. Incomplete and misleading information mostly appeared in the advertisements. Intervention study showed that the average of participants’ knowledge in subtopic of medicine misleading was low and could be increased from 34.2 (pretest) with maximum score 100, to 65.3 (post I) and 58.3 (post II). Participants’ skills also improved immediately after intervention and this was maintained at the one month follow up (score means: 3.33; 26.67; 26.67 of maximum score 100, at pre test, post I, and post II, respectively). Key words: medicine advertisements, community empowerment, CEMA-community method, knowledge; skills

Direct–to–Consumer Advertising of Prescription Medicines on the Internet: An Australian Consumer Perspective

ABSTRACTBackgroundIn Australia there are strict regulations in place to protect the consumer from direct–to–consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines. However, the degree of infallibility of these restrictions is unclear.AimTo investigate the DTCA encountered by Australian consumers when searching the Internet for common health‐ or medicine‐related questions.Method2 health topics, weight loss and impotence, were chosen and explored from 2 perspectives – the health condition and a commonly used medicine (brand name). Key words were chosen to simulate the language and search style of a consumer. The first 10 hits from each search were evaluated using the validated DISCERN scale, and a descriptive report of each web site was conducted with a specific focus on evidence for DTCA.ResultsOf the 70 web sites visited, 10 sites originating from the USA or New Zealand exhibited DTCA. The scale and intensity of DTCA varied between search topics and strategies and ranged in appearance from simple, pictorial advertising to subtle forms of persuasive language. DTCA of some pharmaceuticals was often hidden within disease awareness campaigns, ePharmacy web pages and online communities.ConclusionAustralian consumers are exposed to DTCA of prescription medicines on the Internet. Clearly, DTCA restrictions in Australia are not infallible. Australian policy makers in the interests of public health must take measures to address the gaps.

의약품 광고규제에 대한 법적 고찰 - 약사법을 중심으로 -

의약품은 다른 일반적인 상품들과 달리 질병을 치료하고 예방하는 등 사람들의 건강과 생명에 직접적인 영향을 미칠 수 있다는 특성을 지니고 있다. 의약품은 질병치료나 예방에 효과를 발휘하기도 하지만, 한편으로 오남용했을 경우에 돌이킬 수 없는 위험성도 함께 지니고 있다. 따라서 의약품에 대해서는 제조, 판매, 사용뿐만 아니라 광고에서 역시 규제가 뒤따르게 된다. 그런데, 이러한 규제는 다양한 법적 근거에 의해 이루어진다. 의약품 광고규제에 대한 법적 근거로는 광고규제에 관한 일반법인 ``표시·광고의 공정화에 관한 법률``이 있고, 그 밖에 방송법, 방송심의에 관한 규정, 식품위생법, 약사법 등이 있다. 특히, 약사법에서는 제약회사가 의약품을 광고하기 위해서는 사전광고심의절차를 반드시 거치도록 규정하고 있다. 그러나, 규제가 지나치거나 잘못된 경우에는 유용한 정보의 흐름을 방해하고 소비자에게 꼭 필요한 정보가 차단될 위험이 있어 이는 소비자의 알권리와 국민의 선택권을 침해할 수 있다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 현행 약사법에서 의약품 광고를 어떻게 규제하고 있는지 규제의 유형과 내용에 대해 상세히 살펴보았고, 약사법상의 의약품 광고 규정에 어떠한 문제점이 내포되어 있는지도 고찰하였다. 특히, 향후 약사법이 개정된다고 할 경우 반드시 고려해야할 것 중 하나인 의약품 사전심의규정에 대해 위헌적인 요소는 없는지 자세히 살펴보았다.

La publicidad de salud en la prensa ilustrada de finales del siglo XIX

A finales del siglo XIX, la publicidad de las medicinas patentadas fue vital para el desarrollo de la prensa y la evolución de la actividad publicitaria, en los primeros países en industrializarse. Dada la inexistencia de estudios sobre este tema en España, se plantea la hipótesis de que hubo de existir un proceso similar. El estudio se centra en el análisis de un corpus de anuncios aparecidos desde 1891 a 1899 en el semanario ilustrado Blanco y Negro. El objetivo es comprobar el peso de este sector, así como describir las distintas formas galénicas y el tipo de especialidad que primaba.

Role of Socioeconomic Status on Consumers’ Attitudes Towards DTCA of Prescription Medicines in Australia

The Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, operating in Australia under the National Health Act 1953, provides citizens equal access to subsidised pharmaceuticals. With ever-increasing costs of medicines and global financial pressure on all commodities, the sustainability of the PBS is of crucial importance on many social and political fronts. Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines is fast expanding, as pharmaceutical companies recognise and reinforce marketing potentials not only in healthcare professionals but also in consumers. DTCA is currently prohibited in Australia, but pharmaceutical companies continuously lobby for the ban to be lifted. There is evidence that such marketing strategies influence consumer behaviour and concerns have been raised about whether DTCA could affect government expenditure on the PBS in Australia. This pharmacy-based study explored Australian consumer attitudes towards DTCA and whether consumer attitudes regarding DTCA differ based on socioeconomic status, measured in terms of income and education. Consumers from different socioeconomic areas in Sydney were asked to respond to a survey about an advertisement created specifically for the promotion of a mock prescription medicine. Their views about the intent, value and reliability of the advertisement were explored. The study found that consumers of lower socioeconomic status were more likely to perceive DTCA as a source of valuable and reliable medical information, and that they were more likely to request an advertised medication from their physician. If DTCA of prescription medicines was to be introduced in Australia, an increase in government expenditure on the PBS would be anticipated. Findings of this study also expose a deficit in respect for patients’ right to autonomy and informed consent which should be based on evidence-based, unbiased, information rather than advertisements.

Out of the reach of children? Young people’s health-seeking practices and agency in Africa’s newly-emerging therapeutic landscapes

Despite a dominant view within Western biomedicine that children and medicines should be kept apart, a growing literature suggests that children and adolescents often take active roles in health-seeking. Here, we consider young people’s health-seeking practices in Ghana: a country with a rapidly-changing therapeutic landscape, characterised by the recent introduction of a National Health Insurance Scheme, mass advertising of medicines, and increased use of mobile phones. Qualitative and quantitative data are presented from eight field-sites in urban and rural Ghana, including 131 individual interviews, focus groups, plus a questionnaire survey of 1005 8-to-18-year-olds. The data show that many young people in Ghana play a major role in seeking healthcare for themselves and others. Young people’s ability to secure effective healthcare is often constrained by their limited access to social, economic and cultural resources and information; however, many interviewees actively generated, developed and consolidated such resources in their quest for healthcare. Health insurance and the growth of telecommunications and advertising present new opportunities and challenges for young people’s health-seeking practices. We argue that policy should take young people’s medical realities as a starting point for interventions to facilitate safe and effective health-seeking.

Targeted Advertising of Preventive Medicine in Canada

Canada’s universal health insurance system leads to the under-provision of disease prevention by consumers. This paper demonstrates that a public health education campaign designed to increase coverage of preventive treatment can easily have the opposite effect. Using a model of targeted advertising, I examine conditions under which private advertising is superior to a public education campaign in terms of health care outcomes. By assumption, an individual’s risk of illness is common knowledge. Advertising affects a healthy consumer’s perception of the pain and suffering that accompany disease. Public advertising can improve health care, but only if the government refrains from advertising to consumers who have a high risk of illness.

Analysis of governmental administration on medical advertisements in modern China

The huge medical market in modern China brought about prosperity and then an uncontrolled medical advertising industry. In order to standardize the market, the health institution resorted to laws and regulations. Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau began the work in 1928 and Shanghai Provisional Rules of Banning Obscene Drug Advertising was issued in 1929. In 1930, Provisional Rules of Chinese and Western Medicine Advertising of the Beiping Health Bureau was carried out and then Rules of Chinese and Western Medicine Advertising of Beiping in 1935. From then on, various parts of the country kept on developing and perfecting their own rules on the basis of Rules of Chinese and Western Medicine Advertising of Beiping and the local situation. Among the rules, Provisional Rules of Chinese and Western Medicine Advertising of Shanghai (1936), Rules of Administrating and Correcting Chinese and Western Medicine Advertising of Beiping (1946) and Rules of Medicine Advertising of Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau (1947) were representatives. Those rules embodied the modern government's principle on administrating advertising by legal means and restraining excess illegal medicine advertising. There were also some weak points in the supervision of medicine advertising, such as sluggish supervision, ineffective supervision and light punishment.

Direct to consumer advertising versus disease awareness advertising: consumer perspectives from down under

AbstractAt present, only the United States and New Zealand allow direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicine. In other countries where DTCA is not allowed, including Australia and the United Kingdom, pharmaceutical companies undertake disease awareness advertising (DAA). In DAA, advertisements do not name a drug directly, but provide general information about diseases and treatments, and encourage consumers to talk to their doctor. Similar debate surrounds these two forms of advertising, yet while past research has explored consumers' attitudes and behaviour in response to DTCA, little consideration has been given to DAA. This paper compares Australian consumers' perceptions of DAA with New Zealand consumers' perceptions of DTCA. Despite differences in the type and extent of advertising, respondents perceived similar benefits including heightened awareness of treatment options and improved discussions with doctors. New Zealand respondents associated many negative outcomes with DTCA including unbalanced information, inappropriate requests to doctors and consumer confusion. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Análise crítica da publicidade: um estudo sobre anúncios de medicamento

Neste trabalho realizamos uma reflexão, à luz da Análise de Discurso Crítica (Chouliaraki & Fairclough, 1999; Fairclough, 2003a), sobre sentidos potencialmente ideológicos no gênero “anúncio publicitário de medicamento”. A partir da análise do texto “Na Hora H, conte conosco”, discutimos a emergência de “tecnologias discursivas”. Isto é, de manipulações estratégicas da linguagem orientadas para projetos de dominação. As conclusões apontam que certos sentidos implícitos que circulam em anúncios de medicamento podem sustentar ideologias naturalizadas, assim como instaurar anseios relacionados a saúde.

Key Adjectives Used in Beauty, Clothing, Food, and Medicine Advertisements

Key Adjectives Used in Beauty, Clothing, Food, and Medicine Advertisements

DTCA of Prescription Medicines in the European Union: Is There Still a Need for a Ban?

The pharmaceutical sector is one of the main markets in the European Union. The consumption of medicines is high and steadily increasing. However, the pharmaceutical market is subject to a wider range of restrictions than almost any other sector. The restrictions mainly apply to information provision and advertising practice within the community. One of the main features in pharmaceutical regulation is the ban on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines. However, an abolition of the ban is controversial in the European Community, especially as the pharmaceutical industry keeps pleading for its ability to use the highly effective marketing strategy of DTCA to promote prescription medicines to the general public. Such advertising is only allowed in two jurisdictions in the world, New Zealand and the United States. In both systems the impact of DTCA on the consumer and the economy has been subject to research. The outcome of these studies is outlined in this article. Since the European Commission has provided a new proposal to amend the current information practice regarding prescription medicines in 2008 (European Commission, Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council Amending, as Regards Information to the General Public on Medicinal Products Subject to Medical Prescription, Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community Code Relating to Medicinal Products for Human Use, COM/2008/0663 final) it is time to examine different options to regulate the provision of information and discuss the need for a ban of DTCA.

Opinion: Direct-To-Consumer Advertising of Prescription Medicines: A Counter Argument

Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription-only medicines is currently only permitted in the USA and New Zealand. Barbara Mintzes and Dee Mangin provide their case against direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines, arguing that its wider introduction would lead to a 'Pharma-knows-best' culture.

Content analysis of disease awareness advertisements in popular Australian women's magazines

To examine the nature of disease awareness advertising (DAA). Therapeutic advertisements in six popular Australian women's magazines were monitored between April 2006 and March 2007. A subset of advertisements was included in the study based on criteria derived from a definition of DAA. Unique advertisements were analysed by four independent coders. Types of advertisements and their sponsors, the types of disease information present, and the persuasive techniques utilised. Of 711 advertisements identified, 60 met the inclusion criteria for DAA, and 30 of these were unique. Over one-third of the advertisements were classified as "unbranded product advertisements", which promote a product without referring directly to a brand. DAA sponsored by pharmaceutical companies most often provided treatment and prevalence information. Most (22/30) advertisements used emotional appeals; 15 of these used "happiness/healthiness/wellbeing". The educational value of industry-sponsored DAA could be improved if regulations and guidelines stipulated disease information requirements, such as inclusion of risk-factor and symptom information. Regulators should provide guidelines for "unbranded product advertisements" and the acceptability of other persuasive techniques. Further research into DAA is required and should consider advertisements in a range of media, and behavioural responses.

Advertising of antihypertensive medicines and prescription sales in Australia

Drug promotion is one of the main factors that influence prescribing practices, but there are limited data available to quantify the relationship between drug advertising and prescription sales. To investigate the relationship between advertising for antihypertensive medicines and prescription sales in Australia between 1993 and 2002. Retrospective observational study. Advertising trends were monitored by counting the number of advertisements published in three Australian medical journals. Monthly prescription dispensing data were obtained from Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee and expressed as numbers of defined daily doses/1000 inhabitants/day. Linear regression and cross-correlations of time series were used in the analysis. The drug classes the most heavily advertised, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and calcium channel blockers, were also the most prescribed during the study period, while the drugs the least advertised, thiazide diuretics and beta-blockers, were the least used. In 5 of the 7 main antihypertensive classes, the product the most advertised was also the most prescribed. Other factors, such as the publication of large clinical trials, may have also influenced prescribing patterns. Prescription sales of antihypertensives in Australia are correlated with promotional advertising. The newest and most expensive medicines may be chosen over older effective drugs by prescribers. New policies on drug promotion control need to be developed.

Reaching and influencing consumers in the prescription medicine market

PurposeCelebrex became the first of a new class of drugs known as COX‐2 selective non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs. It improves treatment for arthritis sufferers without compromising the protective lining of the stomach. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines can be used to rebuild faith in the cyclooxygenase‐2 (COX‐2) product category.Design/methodology/approachThe case is developed using published sources and no input is required from company representatives. The presentation style follows the classic comprehensive case format used in postgraduate teaching programmes.FindingsBusiness executives and strategic marketing students would benefit from a discussion on how external environmental factors can suddenly impose a review of marketing strategy. The reader learns how management addresses the business dilemma using DTCA.Research limitations/implicationsA blockbuster rival drug Vioxx is withdrawn due to cardiovascular (CV) health safety concerns. A resulting dominant market situation soon becomes a business dilemma. The Federal Drug Administration calls for a “black box” warning label on Celebrex, the most serious type of warning.Practical implicationsThe implications are that having a product in a class of its own is not enough. It highlights the need to communicate to different audiences, to both the medical profession and the end‐user. Getting doctors to recommend the medicine and pulling the product through the channel by stimulating patient demand after a health scare are paramount.Originality/valueThis is the first pharmaceutical business case where the withdrawal of a rival product leaves the dominant competitor in a monopoly situation. Contrary to expectation, market share plummets despite the absence of competition.

As Dimensões da Atitude Frente à Propaganda de Medicamentos: Uma Descrição no Brasil e Avaliação de Escala

O Instituto Brasileiro de Defesa do Consumidor tem desde 2007 o firme propósito de proibir a propaganda de medicamentos. Preocupa-se com o aumento da participação de remédios em intoxicações e o crescimento do investimento em propaganda do setor farmacêutico. Do outro lado, indústrias farmacêuticas e profissionais de comunicação defendem o acesso dos consumidores à informação por meio da propaganda.

Opinion: The Case for Advertising Pharmaceuticals Direct to Consumers

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DCTA) of prescription-only medicines is currently only permitted in the USA and New Zealand. While proponents of DCTA argue that it allows patients to make more informed choices about available treatment options, opponents claim that marketing inevitably presents a biased viewpoint of pharmaceutical products. Frank Auton, senior lecturer in marketing and business strategy at the University of Westminster, UK, presents his case in favor of advertising pharmaceuticals directly to patients.

Evaluation of medicines advertising in medical journals

This work intended to analyze the advertising of medicines requiring medical prescription, divulged into three journals of the neurology and cardiology areas addressed to healthcare professionals. The analysis was based on current legislation, among other criteria, as well as specific literature. The presence of the following items was investigated: registration number, drug name, specific indications, contraindications; cautions and warnings; adverse reactions; possible side effects; posology; legibility of technical-scientific information and bibliographic references, phrases and/or expressions about the medication benefits, as compared to other drugs; safety warnings, healing promises and pictures of people smiling, and the quotations confirmation based on bibliographic references. Among the evaluated legal criteria, it was observed the absence of legibility in technical-scientific information in 85% of advertisements; absence of side effects in 23%; absence of cautions and warnings in 15%; of contraindications in 12.8%; of posology in 6.4%; of registration numbers in 2.7% and of the Common Brazilian Denomination/Common International Denomination (Denominação Comum Brasileira/Denominação Comum Internacional - DCB/DCI) in 0.6%. Out of 130 statements respecting advantages face to others drugs, 23.8% were not confirmed and out of 48 divulged safety messages, 41.7% could not be found in quoted references. The pictures of people smiling was a resource used in 42.2% of advertisements. Out of 1362 references analyzed, 19.7% were not found and 37.1% of quoted affirmations weren't confirmed.