Significantly, for pharmaceutical companies to continue to increase its profits in the United States of America, the role of direct-to-consumer and direct-to-physician advertisements lays the groundwork for pharmaceutical companies to succeed in a free-market society. However and often ignored by most pharmaceutical companies, its advertisements are heavily consumed with bias and deceiving information about its medical medications and medical treatments towards both consumers and physicians alike. In Amanda L. Connors’ article titled, Big Bad Pharma: An Ethical Analysis of Physician- Directed and Consumer-Directed Marketing Tactics, explains how pharmaceutical companies forget their moral objective of providing safe and effective medical medications …show more content…
As an example, when marketing and advertising its medical medications and medical treatments by television, magazines, and online towards consumers, pharmaceutical companies used the method known as product-claim advertising. Mainly, the purpose of the product-claim advertising is for pharmaceutical companies must mention the drug’s name; what pharmaceutical company or companies represent the drug produced; and provide a brief summary of the benefits and risks of the drugs advertised and marketed (Connors, 2010, p. 268). Questionably, pharmaceutical companies repeatedly claims that the importance of direct-to-consumer advertising is to encourage an educational discussion between consumers (Patients) and physicians about health, diseases, and treatments (Connors, 2010, p. 269). Then again, pharmaceutical companies’ direct-to-consumers marketing and advertising continued to develop negative consequences and threatening to consumers’ health. To demonstrate, Connors (2010) exposes that pharmaceutical companies’ direct-to-consumers advertising methods exposes mislead and inaccurate information that affects the public health (p.
In Melody Peterson’s “Our Daily Meds” , the history of marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical industry is explored. The first chapter of the book, entitled “Creating disease”, focuses on how major pharmaceutical companies successfully create new ailments that members of the public believe exist. According to Peterson, the success that these drug manufacturers have experienced can be attributed to the malleability of disease, the use of influencial people to promote new drugs, the marketing behind pills, and the use of media outlets.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing of pharmaceuticals has grown increasingly in the past decade. The American public views prescription drug advertising for a wide range of medical conditions, including high cholesterol, depression, allergies, and erectile dysfunction. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates the content of these advertisements. Critics also have taken the position that the advertisements garner unearned trust from the public, are misleading, and promote unnecessary use of prescription drugs for common problems associated with aging. Proponents counter that DTC ads help eliminate stigmas associated with certain medical conditions, give patients an active role in their health care management, and encourages the doctor/patient relationship. There have been calls for bans on DTC pharmaceutical advertising, but the practice is protected under a business’s right to free speech. Regulation changes, particularly requiring the FDA to pre-approve marketing campaigns before they are released to the public, may be one way to appease opponents, while protecting the rights of pharmaceutical manufacturers to advertise to the average American consumer.
"In the past two decades or so, health care has been commercialized as never before, and professionalism in medicine seems to be giving way to entrepreneurialism," commented Arnold S. Relman, professor of medicine and social medicine at Harvard Medical School (Wekesser 66). This statement may have a great deal of bearing on reality. The tangled knot of insurers, physicians, drug companies, and hospitals that we call our health system are not as unselfish and focused on the patients' needs as people would like to think. Pharmaceutical companies are particularly ruthless, many of them spending millions of dollars per year to convince doctors to prescribe their drugs and to convince consumers that their specific brand of drug is needed in order to cure their ailments. For instance, they may present symptoms that are perfectly harmless, and lead potential citizens to believe that, because of these symptoms, they are "sick" and in need of medication. In some instances, the pharmaceutical industry in the United States misleads both the public and medical professionals by participating in acts of both deceptive marketing practices and bribery, and therefore does not act within the best interests of the consumers.
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising refers to one of the marketing strategies in a pharmaceutical industry. As pharmaceutical products directly affect people's lives and health, many industrialized countries ban DTC advertisements; the United States and New Zealand are the only industrialized countries that allow DTC advertising of prescription medicines. However, there is a controversy over whether DTC advertising, as one of the most effective forms of mass communication, should be more regulated than it is now. This debate is ongoing. This research argument, however, contends that people need stronger regulations against many DTC advertisements in the pharmaceutical industry because they are usually manipulative and misleading to people.
Direct-to-consumer prescription drug ads are dangerous and can have serious effects on the health of the general public. In the article “Pros & Cons Arguments: ‘Should prescription drugs be advertised directly to consumers?’”, the pros and cons of the advertising of prescription drugs are compared. The negative aspects of these ads outweigh that of the positives. DTC prescription drug ads misinform patients, promote over-usage, and pressure medical providers. The counter side argues that these ads inform patients, create a positive impact on patient compliance with medication, and cause patients to confront their doctors.
In Melody Peterson’s “Our Daily Meds” , the history of marketing and advertising in the pharmaceutical industry is explored. The first chapter of the book, entitled “Creating disease”, focuses on how major pharmaceutical companies successfully create new ailments that members of the public believe exist. According to Peterson, the success that these drug manufacturers have experienced can be attributed to the malleability of disease, the use of influencial people to promote new drugs and the efficient usage of media outlets.
In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) passed a ruling to allow direct marketing to consumers as long as the pharmaceutical companies included warnings about possible side effects and other dangers. This change allowed for print-based marketing such as magazines, but in 1997, the FDA lessened the requirement for detailed warnings. Furthermore, the FDA ruled that TV ads containing only the main dangers of the drug were permissible, and this resulted in an inundation of the direct-to-consumer advertising on television. “One study showed that for each dollar of direct-to-consumer advertising on TV by the pharmaceutical company during 1999-2000 resulted in a return of $4.20 for each dollar spent. By 2005, the pharmaceutical industry spent over one billion on TV ads” (DeGeorge 319). Based on these facts, the advertising is paying off for these large pharmaceutical companies.
In America, it has become a battle to earn a high paying job to cope with the expenses of a typical American. It has become even more of a battle for some people to afford medical prescriptions to keep healthy. Health becomes a crucial issue when discussed among people. No matter what, at one point or another, everyone is going to stand as a victim of the pharmaceutical industry. The bottom line is Americans are paying excessive amounts of money for medical prescriptions. Health-Care spending in the U.S. rose a stunning 9.3% in 2002, which is the greatest increase for the past eleven years. (Steele 46) Many pharmaceutical companies are robbing their clients by charging extreme rates for their products.
We live in a world where being medicated has become a societal norm. Modern health care practices have set the stage for the proliferation of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs by pharmaceutical manufacturers. Some of these practices include the emergence of managed care organizations (MCOs), the legalization of DTCA of prescription drugs, the emergence of the Internet as an alternative promotional channel, the increased desire by patients to become more involved in their own health care decisions, the disillusionment with traditional medicine, and the rise of ‘alternative’ medicine, to name a few. There is an ongoing debate as to the ultimate harm or benefit of this relatively recent practice of pharmaceutical manufacturers to direct their promotional efforts away from the physician and towards the consumer.
Kaphingst, K. A. (2004). A Content Analysis of Direct-to-ConsumerTelevision Prescription Drug Advertisements. Journal of Health Communication,Volume 9: , 515–528,.
Prescription drug advertising is a normal part of living in the United States. Considering what people can learn through advertising in society is almost unreal. The US population have encountered drug advertisements dating back to the early 1900’s. From heroin to aspirin and everything in between were at once listed to be advertised. Fast forward to today, and pharmaceutical companies continue to use high amounts of prescription drugs advertisements. People right now are seeing the effects that these advertisements have in negative ways, but also at the same time creating benefits in society.
On May 19, 1983 an advertisement for the pain reliever Rufen was broadcasted on television. Starting the debate whether or not drug manufactures should be able to advertise their product to the consumer. Although drug advertisements have become a common part of the average TV commercial brake. The debate still rages on with doctors, consumers and drug manufactures arguing whether or not this should continue. Lately many doctors have been speaking out against direct to consumer drug advertising. The American Medical Association has called for band on drug adverting. Stating that they encourage unnecessary treatments, increases medical costs, impacts doctors’ ability to treat patients and promotes unproven drugs.
Drug advertising for prescription medications comes in many forms including ads in magazines or newspaper, TV commercials, radio broadcasts, brochures, etc. It was in the mid 80s when drug companies started to direct information on prescription drugs to consumers instead of only focusing information on the physicians or pharmacists (FDA, 2012). The change seen in prescription drug promotion towards the public is known as direct-to-consumer advertising. This type of advertising is completely directed to a general audience rather than healthcare providers.
Advertising for Pharmaceutical products in the United Kingdom and the United States triggered frequent examination included integrated marketing communication, How they affect the audience, Social Responsibilities influence by the Advertising Standard Authority, UK, Impact of the advertisement towards the cultural in Malaysia, Globalization and Ethical Issues.
The term “direct marketing” excludes the "middle man" from promotion, as a company's message is provided directly to a potential customer. (Investopedia, 2010) Direct marketing is an advertising campaign that aims to gain an action (such as an order, a visit to a store or Web site, or a request for further information) from a group of consumers in response specific communication from a marketer. The communication may take many forms such as mail, telemarketing, direct e-mail marketing, and point-of-sale (POS) interactions. (searchcrm.techtarget.com, 2014).