Why Direct-To-Consumer Drug Advertising Shouldn't Be Regulated

The state of direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising swirls with controversy for a number of reasons.  Some don't like that pharmaceutical companies can advertise at all.  Their arguments probably aren't totally off base, other than the fact that it's not good to be deciding which companies can exercise their rights to free speech, and which ones can't.  As soon as you start claiming that the market is too important to be influenced by hype and PR, everything is game.  Food?  Too critical?  You could go on and on.

The other criticisms seem to focus specifically on erectile dysfunction (ED) drugs -- like Viagra.  These make a lot of people uncomfortable for some reason, probably since they're not convinced that sexual health is  a legitimate avenue of medicine.  So, any advertising in this space is supposed to be clinical, and tread carefully when suggesting that the drugs may give people a more enjoyable sex life.  If anything, this is one area that should be less regulated since part of the problem is the lingering taboo about the subject.  Commercials could be a good way to break this down, and allow people to get the help they need.

All that being said, check out how they advertise Viagra in Belgium.

Hilarious!  Somehow, we couldn't see that flying here -- which is too bad.  So much advertising remains stultifyingly boring here.

Comments

[UndergradChemist]

If that's the way you see it, as "privileging" something like that, why have an FDA at all? The whole point is that we *do* consider drugs to be privileged categories, because they are often avenues of con-artists and the less than moral (think about all the people advocating that vitamins can cure cancer, and the even greater numbers who believe it). Markets only work if we assume that in general, people can assess their own situations and risk aversion.

Normally, this isn't all that big of a problem; at least, not enough for regulation. After all, people aren't rational, they make impulse purchases of the most inane stuff at ridiculous prices. Pharmaceuticals represent a special case because almost no-one is of the scientific ability to properly judge the quality of drugs or their own medical situation -- many doctors are incapable of this, too, considering the popularity of stuff like Nexium. In addition, people don't make decisions based on price because of our strange health-care structure. With this latter part, the problems of DTC advertising are merely symptoms of deeper problems, but considering that we don't seem to be moving towards a better system anywhere in the near future, regulating DTC is better than not regulating.

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