Why not, definitely prescription drugs should be advertised. There already exists laws in the Drug and Pharma Act that says companies can be penalised for misleading advertisements when it comes to drugs or for exaggerated treatments from the use of a particular drug. This can be further extended to prescription drugs and penalties made more severe to rein in companies who resort to fraudulent advertisements. I do not recommend doctors prescribing one - because how many doctors are genuine today? not many! look at the line of pharma reps in a doctors chamber who dole out everything from free gifts to medicines in order to ensure the doctor recommends their drug. So even doctors are not genuine. Rather if pharma companies where allowed to advertise, the public at large would be better informed and can question their doctor if they find a costly drug being prescribed when there is no necessity of one. This is the information age and an informed customer will ensure the doctor and the pharma company are both on their toes. This is the need of the hour as the Medical Council of India has proved to be incapable in regulating the medical industry.
By
Jaygopal Raghavan, Marketing Manager, Landmark Group
| 07 31 2008 08:15:34 +0000
Many degenerative conditions can be best treated by early intervention; if patients are aware of the drugs that are available at an early stage they are more likely to take them, thereby increasing their standard of living and reducing their long-term cost to state or private health cover providers. We should not attack drugs companies for making profits from their products, nor for encouraging patients to use them. A drug which remains unused is a drug which is helping nobody; adverts are simply a reasonable way for drug companies to help consumers find out about their products within a safe and highly regulated environment.
By
Vishal Agarwal, Product/Brand Manager, Dr Reddy Labs
| 07 30 2008 02:07:56 +0000
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Drug companies at this point of time should not be allowed to advertise to the masses. The reasons are obvious - We do not want misuse of medication by patients or the chemists. Let us look at it from a micro view point while comparing it with US.
1) In the US, all drugs whether Research or Generic Molecule need to be approved by the USFDA before they get marketing authorization. Qualifying the approval of any drug by USFDA, is a very stringent and long task, which when compared with our own Drug Control Department is way advanced. In India, it is easy to get a marketing approval, as all the regulatory requirement is quite less compared to the US FDA.
2) Here in India, the reality of a Chemist shop is, it operates with or without a Pharmacist. Although all chemist shops get their licence by completing paper formalities, you seldom can find one. Moreover, even if you find a "Qualified"Pharmacist ..the likelyhood is that he will most likely be a D.Pharm(Diploma Holder). Is Diploma holder qualified enough to counsel patients ? The answer is No. This shows our standards are low. If you look at the US, all Pharmacists have to pass the NAPLEX examination, before they get a licence, which isn't easy. The candidates taking this examination are minimum B.Pharm graduates (5 years program) or Pharm.D, or M.Pharm or even PhD. How many B.Pharm qualified Pharmacists will you find in a Chemist Shop..? The answer is negligible. Here the Pharmacist/ Chemist shop owner will promote medication, which will earn them good margins, even if that might mean, substituting with cheaper brands or even local brands, that might not be to the required standards.
3) There is a tendency of people buying drugs which they might not require, (prescription drugs). An example to quote here "Viagra". We all remember a good media coverage for this drug in leading newspapers, magazines across India. This resulted in huge sale of the generic versions. People started popping it, as they thought it will "enhance performance" in place of the real indication of "erectile dysfunction". As a result, there were quite a few cases reported that, people suffered cardiac side effects. This drug- Seldinafil acts basically by vasodialation , and increased dose means there will be a huge fall in the BP, and this might result in the patient collapsing.
4) In US, each medication that is sold, a proper record is maintained by the Pharmacies. The details of which can be retrived at any point of time, including medical test details which are linked with doctors through softwares. And this really helps in case of emergencies. Where as in India, nothing like this exists, and it is practically impossible to trace the patients buying a particular medication.
In the end I would like to conclude that, it will be a blunder to advertise brands, as that will lead to self medication (in order to save Dr's fees) and ultimately result in misuse.
By
Chandra Shekhar Banerjee, Director- Operations, Insignia Communiactions Pvt Ltd
| 02 21 2009 17:56:01 +0000
it is unreasonable to advertise prescription drugs to the public. The public are not familiar to drugs, so the companies have suspicion to cheating or pretense. it is bad for standardizing the pharmaceutical market. many medicines would be popularized by advertise not effect. in china, these activities were forbided in 2002.
By
Steven , Student, none
| 02 01 2009 06:01:10 +0000
my dear anuradha ... hi... i totally agree to what u say ..that we cant stop the youth from doing wrong practices but look at the practicality which says the only fear of sex is pregnancy and if fear of pregnancy is lost the act can be comfortably done without tension and also spread venral diseases and HIV.....shudnt we be looking at this aspect of itÂ
By
dr vidya shetty, Gynaeocologist, saileela hospital
| 11 03 2008 08:39:48 +0000
In countries where most of the drugs are regulated by physician prescriptions, advertisement can only lead to patients asking their physicians for the medications and getting it only if it is indicated.In India, most of the drugs are available over the counter including sedatives and antibiotics. Advertisement of prescription drugs will lead only to misuse of drugs in this context. Â Â Â Improving quality of the drugs and regulating them strictly through prescription should be the first step.
By
Mathew John, Endocrinologist, Kerala Institute of Medical Sciences
| 10 16 2008 17:28:47 +0000
yes your absolutely right. i would like to know your opinion regarding advertising of I-pill . this is a drug which has been introduced for emrgency contraception like in cases of rape or sexual assult but the younger genration today is enjoying themselves and then just popping this pill like a chocolate. its good isnt it? advertising drugs which should save lives is making life more dangerous.advertising is also making young girls go in for medical abortion if they got information about ipill late . we in are day to day practise are getting to seee so many yound girls go through all this ...and after that for me its a BIG NO NO AND A NO
By
dr vidya shetty, Gynaeocologist, saileela hospital
| 10 16 2008 12:29:55 +0000
I think when we raise such issues we are more democratic by our mind but lack the knowledge of the real healthcare scenario. How we can do this ? this will raise question on every prescription & economic dynamics will play beyond the control of a doctor. Please think the consequences of how it will affect the treatment because it is not a marketing game to advertise best than to manage quality. We will promote products by brand heros not by the skill of treatment. No need right now. let us have faith in our doctors ,not on advertising gurus who cannot be a responsible person to rely upon. Medicines are still costly as they comprise of 35% of treatment cost why to increase it more. We cannot follow america we are still much better than what they are.
By
PREM PRAKASH, Hospital Administrator, O.P.Jindal Institute of Cancer & Research
| 09 30 2008 13:15:16 +0000
Advertising does not attempt to tell the truth, but to give a biased view of a product. Companies spend millions of dollars a year on advertising and would not do so unless there was a return. While purchasing a particular brand of cola on the basis of an advert might not be disastrous for the consumer, using an inappropriate drug could be. If a patient sees a drug which is inappropriate for them and asks their doctor for it, if their doctor does not prescribe it they may ignore them and seek a second or third opinion. Prescription medicines are fundamentally complex and dangerous things, which is why they require a prescription by a qualified doctor.
By
Ajoy Mondal, Product/Brand Manager, Ranbaxy Labs
| 07 30 2008 02:08:44 +0000
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