Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising

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Week 6 - Discussion Question

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Pushing Pills

According to Marketing Drugs: The Pitfalls of DTC (Links to an external site.), posted by: Arlene Weintraub on November 5, 2009:

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising is one of the most controversial issues in pharmaceuticals. Critics say the ads promote the over-use of prescription drugs that are sometimes dangerous. In fact, the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world that allow drug companies to pitch their products directly to consumers ((n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://www.businessweek.com/careers/managementiq/archives/2009/11/marketing_drugs_the_pitfalls_of_dtc.html) (Links to an external site.).

As you have learned this week, advertising and marketing can be used to create profits and awareness. However, some claim that consumer advertising should be banned. Read this excerpt from a New York Times article titled Consumer Drug Advertising Should Be Banned:

Advertising also provokes a subtle shift in our culture -- toward seeking a pill for every ill. While there are many for whom stimulants and other medications can be a godsend, the case of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a prime example of how, too often, a pill substitutes for more human responses to distress. U.S. clinicians prescribe stimulant medication for A.D.H.D. at a rate 25 times (Links to an external site.) that of their European counterparts. The complex decision to start a long-term medication should be motivated by the observations of teachers and parents and children, in the context of a relationship with a caring clinician − not stimulated by rosy ads (Links to an external site.) (Strange, K. (n.d.). Consumer Drug Advertising Should Be Banned. Retrieved April 30, 2015, from http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2013/12/15/is-the-drug-industry-developing-cures-or-hyping-up-demand/consumer-drug-advertising-should-be-banned) (Links to an external site.).

QUESTION: What are your thoughts? Use your weekly readings and other information to form an opinion and share it with the class. Make sure to use personal examples and a quote or two from your weekly reading to support your thoughts. Cite your sources using the APA format.