Advertising Ethics

4 Pages 1024 Words

The age of advertising today is not what it used to be years ago. Pharmaceutical companies are spending on average billions of dollars to market their drugs directly to the consumers. With this comes a potential harm to some consumers due to the fact that they feel like they are free to ask for anything that may stop the symptoms they have. Should the FDA take a stand in putting a stop to how certain drugs are marketed, or just continue to let it get out of control? Who should be able to control the prescriptions: the patient or the doctor?
Take the drug Prozac for our first example: it’s in rock lyrics, magazines, books and billboards. I don’t think there are too many people who have not heard of it or that in some point of their lives were not on it. Many parents are turning to their children’s doctor to put them on it because of problems they may be having at home.
In an article from The Economist I found that it is illegal in Europe to advertise prescription drugs. They are allowed to market they’re over the counter drugs but an advertisement for a prescription drug can only be found in

medical journals. It was felt that advertising prescriptions filled the heads of consumers and it could undermine the doctor’s authority.
Lilly Pharmaceutical company did a two page spread on Prozac that had one page with a dark rainy sky with the words “Depression Hurts” and on the other side was a bright sunny sky with the words “Prozac can help”.(Vol.344) Prozac may be good for some people but for others it may not be the drug they need, and because of ads like that they feel the need to pressure their physician for a prescription for it. Can it really help put sunny days back into a miserable life?
America has allowed direct to consumer advertising for over a decade now but to date there have been no claims that anyone has been hurt by it. In television ads the companies are prepared to pay the cost that it takes to tel...