Vioxx recall leaves drug advertising unchanged

If you were expecting that Vioxx recall will put an end to direct-to-consumer advertising, then you have been proved wrong already. In fact since the recall of Vioxx, the level of advertising for all drugs remain unchanged but for alternatives to Vioxx, it has gone up.

Is direct-to-consumer advertising helpful?

No one can argue against the value of information provided to people so that they can take better care of their health. When Americans take better care of their health, we prosper as a nation. But that is not what direct-to-consumer advertising does today. Right now, the idea behind advertising is to talk about specific drugs and ask consumers to get treatment for that illness by asking specifically for that drug. So there is plenty of advertising for ED but hardly any advertising for obesity. What information is provided to consumers is determined by advertising dollars for a specific drug that a company wants to spend. The result: consumers don't get good information for improving their overall health but get bombarded with ads for Viagra or Claritin or Lipitor (and Vioxx in the past).

The drugmakers disagree. PHRMA, the association of pharmaceutical companies, cites a study that showed that:

• 56 percent of physicians agree that direct-to-consumer advertising brings in patients to seek treatment that would otherwise go untreated
• 28 percent of those who contacted a doctor because of direct-to-consumer advertising report that it was the first time they talked to their doctor about a condition
• 22 percent reported that the advertising prompted them to talk to a doctor earlier than they would have otherwise

But it is also true that direct-to-consumer advertising led approximately 100 million people worldwide to take Vioxx and tens of thousands of them have now been killed.

How to provide good health related information to consumers?

If the drug companies want to spend their $21 billion on improving the health of Americans, this money should be given to a non-profit group that can run public service ads without mentioning any drug names. So along with frequent reminders to brush your teeth, they can also ask people to check their cholesterol regularly.

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