Matching Prescription Drugs and Consumers

Prescription drugs are seldom advertised directly to consumers, partly because of strict regulation by the Food and Drug Administration. In fact, there has been a moratorium on direct consumer advertising since 1983. The two types of consumer advertising permitted as exceptions to the moratorium are circumscribed in such a way as to weaken greatly the incentive to advertise. Even before the moratorium, the requirement that the ads include a "fair balance" of information about effectiveness, side effects, and contraindications1 made advertising very costly. Thus, public policy has consistently opposed the routine advertising of prescription drugs to consumers.This policy is . public policy is . . .