Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of healthcare products refers to
a variety of marketing practices based on a combination of information and
promotion strategies directed at consumers through different media such as
radio and television broadcasts, newspaper and magazine ads, and, more
recently, through the Internet. The principal form of marketing used by
the pharmaceutical industry is the distribution of free samples to
physicians but DTCA is an increasing part of global promotional spending
for prescription drugs. Latest estimates suggest that DTCA now represents
an annual $3.2 billion enterprise for the U.S. pharmaceutical industry.
Findings from the literature show that these substantial efforts are
geared toward the newer pharmaceuticals for chronic conditions with huge
market potentials. The lion's share is going to the 20 most
prescribed pharmaceuticals.We thank the
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation (J.I.) for funding of this project and
Dr. Patricia King for her support. Writing of this paper was supported by
NIH/NINDS R01 #NS045831 (J.I.) and the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada (E.R.). We also acknowledge Dr.
Pamela Schraedley-Desmond, Shilpa Gulati, Neil Mukhopadhyay, and Sarah
Waldman.