Abstract
Policy change in 1997 by the Food and Drug Administration made the United States only one of two countries to allow direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). DTCA refers to the promotion of prescription medications through media directly to consumers as opposed to distribution of information only medical professionals. Supporters argue that DTCA educates consumers and helps them to make more informed decisions about their health care. On the other side, opponents argue that it leads to otherwise healthy people believing they are sick, thereby increasing profits for pharmaceutical companies. After reviewing the history of DTCA and literature demonstrating the pros and cons of the practice, the author makes recommendations about how policy can change to reflect the needs of consumer.
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Articles published in The Graduate Review are the property of the individual contributors and may not be reprinted, reformatted, repurposed or duplicated, without the contributor's consent.
Recommended Citation
Kiss, Sally A.
(2016)
Harmful or Helpful? Direct to Consumer Advertising.
The Graduate Review, 1, 7-15.
Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/grad_rev/vol1/iss1/7