Did you know that the U.S and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow DTC (Direct To Consumer) Advertising of drugs? At first glance, this doesn't really seem to be an important issue, you might be saying, “Oh who cares, advertisements for drugs? That’s to help people get the medication they need right?” In a way yes, they can help but DTC advertising causes more issues than they solve. DTC advertisements should be illegal because they cause many more issues than the few problems they solve.
DTC advertising causes one major issue and that is that drugs get shotgunned out to the public. Instead of drug producers targeting a single and specific audience, they instead shotgun information about their drugs to everyone. An argument someone might use for this is that since information is provided in big bulks to consumers that it can help people figure out …show more content…
People might think that this is actually better for people to look for certain drugs because it can help people find health issues. “As of May 2011, the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads.” (Kleinfield) “Advertising also provokes a subtle shift in our culture -- toward seeking a pill for every ill.” (Stange) The reason why DTC advertising makes the numbers of prescriptions go up is because when people see an advertisement that has a really vague ailment that their product will solve, the consumer actively goes out and tried to get the product that they think will help them, but it doesn't always. If an advertisement says something like “Treats a sore throat” Someone might go out and try to get that medication prescribed to them when it is actually really far away from what they
DTC advertising causes one major issue and that is that drugs get shotgunned out to the public. Instead of drug producers targeting a single and specific audience, they instead shotgun information about their drugs to everyone. An argument someone might use for this is that since information is provided in big bulks to consumers that it can help people figure out …show more content…
People might think that this is actually better for people to look for certain drugs because it can help people find health issues. “As of May 2011, the average number of prescriptions for new drugs with DTC advertising is nine times greater than prescriptions for new drugs without DTC ads.” (Kleinfield) “Advertising also provokes a subtle shift in our culture -- toward seeking a pill for every ill.” (Stange) The reason why DTC advertising makes the numbers of prescriptions go up is because when people see an advertisement that has a really vague ailment that their product will solve, the consumer actively goes out and tried to get the product that they think will help them, but it doesn't always. If an advertisement says something like “Treats a sore throat” Someone might go out and try to get that medication prescribed to them when it is actually really far away from what they