Pharmaceutical advertising can lead to problematic self-diagnoses

From over-the-counter Claritin to prescribed Zoloft, companies have put more of their… From over-the-counter Claritin to prescribed Zoloft, companies have put more of their revenues into direct-to-consumer advertisements in recent years.

“With companies getting advertisements directly to the consumer, patients can be more active with their own medications,” said Julie Donohue, associate professor of health policy and management at GSPH. “A possible drawback to this is the overuse of some medications.”

Prior to the 1990s, pharmaceutical companies went directly to physicians to advertise products. Soon, companies began building a new strategy to sell their products – putting ads in magazines, television commercials and on billboards.

“Many of these first ads had holes in their information,” Donohue said. “Some ads ran that we weren’t even told what the product was.”

In August 1997, the FDA clarified and modified its guidelines for direct-to-consumer advertisements. Ads that run in the mass media must now include a summary of the product, list of known side-effects, referral to a print ad, website and an 800 number.

“This seemed like a major change in the culture and practice of medicine,” Donohue said.

Donohue plans to continue her research on direct-to-consumer advertisements.

“I want to continue tracking FDA regulations and the amount of money companies spend on advertisements,” she said. “My main interest is the impact these ads have on consumer health.”

-Laurie Zinberg, staff writer