The Pressures of Drug Advertising on Physicians and Patients

Abstract

The Medical Committee for Human Rights Is concerned with the plight of the consumer in the selection of prescription and OTC medications. The Committee charges that advertising puts undue pressure upon physicians and patients alike to use drugs beyond proper indications in the treatment and prevention of disease. Levying a host of complaints against drug advertising practices, the committee puts forth a series of recommendations, including the elimination of profits in stemming what they term Is the over-powering influence of drug advertising on prescription patterns.