WOULD you want to see Prozac advertised routinely in Britain’s newspapers,
magazines or on TV? For more than two years, the Association of the British
Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has been pushing to change the law to allow
“direct-to-consumer advertising”. In other words, marketing to the public what
are currently prescription-only medicines. And with scarcely a hint of debate,
the deal could be done before we know it.
“Is change necessary?” asks the ABPI in a recent briefing paper for the
media. Yes, it replies to its own question: “Pharmaceutical companies wish to
provide accurate, balanced, scientifically based and ethically sound…
