Drug Ads Debate Heats Up in Europe and New Zealand [1]
Submitted by Bob Burton [2] on
A coalition of European health groups, including the International Society of Drug Bulletins and the Medicines in Europe Forum, is alarmed at a renewed campaign by the drug industry to lift the ban on direct-to-consumer advertising in Europe [3]. While acknowledging consumer information about health is essential, the groups are concerned that backdoor direct-to-consumer advertising [4] (DTCA) through "disease awareness" campaigns and the direct or indirect funding of patient groups [5] by drug companies "have blurred the boundaries between drug promotion and health information." They argue that there "needs to be a clear distinction between information and advertising that is disguised as 'information.'" Meanwhile, the New Zealand Minister for Health, Pete Hodgson, has said that [6] he will shortly announce a decision on a review of DTCA advertising [7]. New Zealand and the U.S. are the only countries which currently allow DTCA ads. Public health groups are urging [8] the government to ban the ads.