A proposal before the Massachusetts state Senate to ban drug company gifts to doctors is generating controversy. "To imply that doctors who have invested years and tens of thousands of dollars in their profession can be bought with a dinner or a package of Post-its is beneath contempt," wrote the husband of one doctor. But Dr. Daniel J. Carlat, an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, wrote that the proposed ban "may be one of the most important pieces of healthcare legislation in years." Carlat cited former drug sales representative Sharam Ahari, who explained that "It's my job to figure out what a physician's price is. For some it's dinner at the finest restaurants, for others it's enough convincing data to let them prescribe confidently and for others it's my attention and friendship."

The director of external relations for Procter & Gamble, Mark Chakravarty, recently told a UK healthcare PR conference that the drug industry is less than popular with the public. "There is a high suspicion of the pharma industry. Greed, dishonesty and fraud are some of its associations. The clinical trial press this week and an increased number of drug scandals add to this image," he said. David Lewis, the corporate affairs director of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, was less worried. "The industry is not as badly perceived as it thinks it is," he said. The same week, the CEO of the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, Professor Kent Woods, stated that GlaxoSmithKline "could and should have reported" information that patients under 18 had a higher risk of suicidal behavior if prescribed the antidepressant Seroxat compared to a placebo.