Dueling DTC Advertising Data
The Wall Street Journal reported today on new legislation that would place sharp limits on direct-to-consumer (DTC or DTCA) advertising. From the Journal:
“The goal [of the legislation], supporters say, is to ensure medicines are safe before allowing industry to promote them to consumers in the hopes they will request prescriptions from doctors. But a reduction in TV and print advertising, which helped transform medications for heartburn and arthritis into blockbusters, would be a serious financial blow to drug makers. According to one study, every $1 spent on pharmaceuticals advertising often adds more than $2 in sales.”
As the debate over DTC advertising once again heats up in Congress, we’ve recently seen a flurry of data focusing on the impact of the commercials. Specifically:
-According to a Harris Interactive poll commissioned by the Pharmaceutical Safety Institute: “Fifty one percent of adults believe that DTCA encourages them to ask additional questions when visiting their physician . . . [and] [f]orty two percent believe that DTCA provides useful information on the risks of using prescription medications.”
-On the other hand, Consumer Reports conducted a survey indicating that “three-quarters of consumers (75 percent) agreed that drug ads lead to over-prescribing, with 38 percent ‘strongly agreeing.’ And 59 percent agreed that the government should restrict advertising by pharmaceutical companies, with 26 percent strongly agreeing to such restrictions.” However, Consumer Reports also found that 63 percent agree that they find the ads useful when speaking with their physicians.
-The consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton conducted a study showing that consumers “trust their physicians [for health content] and have a dim view of information from employers, the government and pharmaceutical companies” – especially drug advertising.
With all of this data flying around, it’s hard to figure out what figures to trust. Of course, as anyone involved in designing polls will tell you, one can get very different answers to questions depending on how they are asked.
Despite the data supporting DTC advertising, Democrats (and their Republican allies) are determined to place limits on it. Everyone will be watching to see how the latest chapter in this long-running debate pans out.
