The U.S Pharmaceutical Industry

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benefits of Direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, one must read an article written by C. Lee Ventola, on The National Center for Biotechnology Information’s webpage, called "Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising, Therapeutic or Toxic?" Ventola dissects the issue piece by piece, but in the 10th paragraph of his article, he discusses the arguments in support of direct-to-consumer drug ads. The National Center for Biotechnology Information(NCBI) is part of the United States National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NCBI advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. In the article "Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising, Therapeutic or Toxic?" Ventrola talks about the benefits of pharmaceutical advertisement stating “ It Informs, educates, and empowers patients, DTCPA educates patients and allows them to take charge of their health. Consumers can also benefit from having access to multiple information sources about drugs and other treatment options rather than relying solely on health care providers.” It is true that seeing advertisement about ones health will increase the thought he or she has about oneself. A person does not have to be sold or persuaded to get them to think about their own health. A friendly reminder will do just as much good to one’s health.

Pharmaceutical advertisements can be found in almost every piece of media, and seeing these advertisements has an effect on people and their culture. Kurt C. Stange is a professor of family medicine and community health at Case Western Reserve University, and he wrote an article called "Consumer Drug Advertising Should Be Banned" in the New York Times Opinion Page on their website. Throughout the article, Stange rebuttals claims supporting pharmaceutical advertisement. He states “Research has shown that the ads convey an unbalanced picture, with benefits and emotional appeals given far greater weight than risks. Advertising also provokes a subtle shift in our culture -- toward seeking a pill for every ill.” Stange is claiming that the use of pharmaceutical advertisement, consumers are being somewhat brainwashed to think that there is a quick fix to your medical problems. This is true people want to believe that their problem can be fixed, but this inductive reasoning way of thinking is just an example of oversimplification and rationalization.

After multiple looks at the argument on whether or not pharmaceutical companies should be able to advertise to the public, it’s clear that there should be a nationwide ban on drug companies advertising their products to the public. These advertisements have a bad effect on its consumers that are causing problems with their health or even causing death. Everyone should always have the right to decide what they put in their own body, but with all the mis-leading information around, primary caretakers should be the to start the conversation about being prescribed medication.