Americans are about evenly split on the educational value of prescription drug ads. But the American Medical Association recently called for a ban, arguing that TV drug ads merely drive demand for expensive treatments. Senator Al Franken, making the same argument as the A.M.A., has introduced a bill to withdraw tax breaks companies are permitted to take for their ad spending.
Research on the consequences of drug ads presents a more nuanced picture. Advertising increases drug sales; the studies are consistent on that. It does so for the promoted drug, as one would expect. But it also increases sales of other, nonadvertised drugs for the same condition. For instance, Prozac ads lead to increases in prescriptions not only of Prozac, but also of Zoloft. Bradley Shapiro, an economist at the University of Chicago, found that the increase in the overall antidepressant market is larger than the market share gains made by just the advertised drugs.
Read Full Article »