How Big Pharma misleads patients with relative numbers
In 2014, Drs. Adrienne Faerber and David Kreling carefully evaluated whether claims made in consumer-facing drug advertisements were accurate. Their finding? Only 33% of claims were objectively true. This isn’t new or groundbreaking information. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has had what it calls the “Bad Ad” program for years. According to the Bad Ad program:
“Prescription drug advertising must:
- Be accurate
- Balance the risk and benefit information
- Be consistent with the prescribing information approved by FDA
- Only include information that is supported by strong evidence”
The FDA’s Bad Ad program attempts to gather reports of false and misleading drug advertising. But it doesn’t seem to be doing very good at curtailing deceptive drug ads. The direct-to-consumer drug ad market is huge and growing, and media is filled with pitches for expensive, side-effect-laden drugs that use positive undertones to overemphasize benefits. In fact, Pharma ads can say basically whatever they want when they first air because the FDA doesn’t even review the content before it gets to the public. Pharma corporations just face a fine later for misleading consumers, which they’ll easily pay — if they get caught.
