The Pros And Cons Of Pharmaceutical Advertising

According to the first test, the action must be consistently universal which means everyone performs it without any contradiction. Only the United States and New Zealand allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to consumers. Why are other countries not allowing the practice of direct advertising to consumers? “Consumer drug advertising is banned in most of the world even while violating the limited guidelines for advertising in the United States” (Stange). It is illegal in the rest of the world because they believe the practice is unethical for drug companies to market directly to the public. The average person does not have the medical knowledge and background to make informed decisions about medical diagnoses and prescription drugs. In order to be ethical the practice should be in accordance with the standards of the medical profession, and most of the world does not believe that it is. In addition, the marketing advertisements offer false promises with misleading ads about expensive drugs that drug companies want to sell to people. If this practice were universal …show more content…
President Reagan worked during his terms to deregulate many policies, and during the reform movement people wanted greater autonomy in health care decisions. I believe that this movement influenced this practice and lessened the rules for requiring a detailed list of warnings. In theory, one would feel that knowledge is power, and that the people should have direct access to the information, but the practice causes more harm than good. The public can get access to the information to make informed decisions, but I believe it would be better to receive the information from someone that has the experience and training to assist you with the decision. Your health care provider may have cheaper or alternative solutions to address the medical