E-drug: Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA)
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The Council of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB)
has today decided its position on the issue of direct-to-consumer
advertising of prescription medicines. The Council recognises that
further developments in DTCA are likely, and it will revisit the issue
as necessary. The Council's position is:
''The demand for information about prescribed medicines from patients
and the public is likely to increase, but DTCA is unlikely to be the
best way of providing it because the aim of advertising is to persuade,
not to give balanced information about benefits and risks.
DTCA, moreover, carries a significant risk of exposing more patients to
the adverse effects of new drugs. If DTCA is successful, it may well
adversely affect doctor-patient relationships, distort public health
priorities and disrupt the cost controls operated by the NHS. The
Society therefore supports increased provision of balanced information
to the public, while taking into account the above points.''
5th December 2001
For further information on the Society's work on DTCA, please contact:
Eileen Neilson
Head of Policy Support
Tel: 020 7572 2217
Fax: 020 7572 2501
Reports and policy evidence at:
http://www.rpsgb.org.uk/news/policy.htm#dtca
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Anthony Cox ADR Pharmacist
West Midlands Centre for Adverse Drug Reaction Reporting
City Hospital NHS Trust, Dudley Road, Birmingham, B18 7QH.
Phone 0121 507 5672 http://www.csmwm.org
Anthony.Cox@cityhospbham.wmids.nhs.uk
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