Marketing Meets the Drug Industry

Although thanks to Netflix many of us don’t have to watch commercials anymore, if you’re flipping through the channels and see the ads, you’ve surely noticed a pattern emerging. An overwhelming majority of commercials are for prescription drugs. This seems like a monumental change from the days of drooling over the newest and coolest toys as they flashed across the screen or begging my mom to buy the latest sugary cereal being advertised when I was a kid.  Commercials for prescription drugs are taking over the air waves. To me, this seems a little strange. Why are they advertising drugs to me, shouldn’t I be listening to what my doctor prescribes me if I need medication? Shouldn’t drug companies be marketing to doctors, not to the average Joe?

According to medicinenet.com, the amount of money pharmaceutical companies are spending on direct-to-consumer advertising has tripled between 1997 and 2005, and has grown from $1.3 billion to $4.2 billion since the restrictions governing drug ads were relaxed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Drug companies strive to achieve name recognition with their products. They aim to put the products into consumers’ heads so that they might recognize the symptoms the commercial describes and then run to their doctor in hopes of being prescribed this magical drug.

While of course this is increasing sales and profit for these drug companies, it creates ethical issues. Marketing medicine to everyday people can lead to overprescribing, and patients thinking that they have symptoms or a disease that they really don’t have. A high increase in drug commercials has led to many people coming into their doctor’s office thinking that they need to be prescribed a medicine that they really don’t need. Drug companies purposely try to play on people’s fears and concern for their health to make money. It’s clever, but many find it unethical. Long story short, if you’re someone who already finds themselves frequenting Web MD, it's probably best just to mute your commercials. 

By: Rachel Seyfarth

Sources:

"Drug Companies." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2016.