Reply #84: But one must ask the question...

[Liberal Veteran]

What good does it do in the long run if the advertising prices the drug out of the market of the elderly?

Or if the insurance company will not approve a particular drug in it's formulary because the costs are so high due to excessive marketing of the drug (as opposed to high costs due to manufacturing or R&D).

I take the side that unrestrained advertising and marketing by pharmaceutical companies is contributing directly to the problem of rising health care/drug costs in our country.

The costs of advertising are not being limited to the drug companies. They are being passed along to the consumer in the form of extremely high prescription prices. This in turn affects the very elderly that COULD be helped by those drugs if they weren't out of reach of their budget.

A new analysis provided by the managed care industry reports that from 1999 to 2000, prescriptions written for the top 50 most heavily advertised drugs rose 24.6 percent, compared to 4.3 percent for all other drugs combined. It also has given the industry a shield by claiming advertising is a necessary expense whenever someone challenges the fact that the pharmaceutical companies are simply put, the most profitable industries in the nation.


While the overall profits of Fortune 500 companies declined by 53 percent - the second deepest dive in profits the Fortune 500 has taken in its 47 years 1 - the top 10 U.S. drug makers increased profits by 33 percent.

So it begs the question: Is the benefit of direct to consumer advertising that gets a few people to call their doctor to ask if Crankistatin is right for them really offset by the costs that are passed along to consumers and possibly even pricing the medication out of reach of those who have to pay out of pocket?

I think not. I think we need to overhaul the entire pharmaceutical industry. They are gouging us at every turn and DTC advertising is just a part of that equation that needs to be dealt with in this country.

Those are costs that passed directly to the consumer.