english.prescrire.org > Spotlight > Archives : 2010 > Direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs: appeal to members of the European Parliament

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Direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs: appeal to members of the European Parliament

MEPs must transform the European Commission’s dangerous proposals into progress for patients.

Patients need information on diseases and on the different diagnostic and therapeutic strategies available to them, in order to be fully involved in health decisions that affect them. To be of real use to patients, this information must be reliable, up to date and comparative.

For several years the European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) has been trying to find a way to allow pharmaceutical companies to promote their prescription medicines directly to the public. Following massive opposition, the Commission was forced to extensively overhaul its proposal which will go before the European Parliament in autumn 2010, but still includes dangers that must be avoided.

A number of groups, including the Medicines in Europe Forum, of which Prescrire is a member, have put forward amendments to this proposal.

By voting for the amendments designed to close the doors to advertising and promote access to independent, reliable, comparative information, in particular by increasing the transparency of the European and national medicines agencies, MEPs have the opportunity to transform the Commission’s proposals from a threat to public health into progress for patients.

Most importantly, MEPs must not allow companies to supply the public with “information” derived from official sources: experience has shown how adept advertisers can be at exploiting this type of loophole to pharmaceutical companies’ advantage but at  the expense of patients.

©Prescrire October 2010

Source : "Publicité grand public pour les médicaments de prescription ? Un automne 2010 crucial" Rev Prescrire 2010; 30 (323): 700-701.