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Drug companies selling more 'lifestyle,' less 'symptom'

Date:
May 15, 2018
Source:
University of South Florida (USF Health)
Summary:
More prescription drug commercials are promoting how certain medications can improve a user's lifestyle rather than curing symptoms and the negative emotions connected to their health condition.
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Prescription drug commercials are getting longer and providing less factual information. A study published in the Annals of Family Medicine finds that the majority of these ads focus on lifestyle improvements made post-medication rather than side-effects and the negative emotions associated with certain health issues.

The team of researchers lead by the University of South Florida in Tampa compared prescription drug commercials from 2016 to results from a related study conducted in 2004. They found 56.9% of ads portrayed actors as regaining control and social approval, along with improved endurance in physical activities such as bicycling and hiking. That's up from 39.5% of ads monitored in the previous research.

"Direct-to-consumer advertising continues to promote prescription drugs above educating the population," said lead author Janelle Applequist, PhD, assistant professor at the University of South Florida Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications. "Such expansive promotion of drug benefits could imply off-label outcomes and encourage an inappropriately broad population to seek the advertised drug."

While the commercials were 30-percent longer, they contained significantly less information about the medical condition in itself. The percentage of ads that explain associated risk factors dropped 26 percent to 16 percent and the condition's prevalence went from 25 percent to 16 percent. Few ads emphasized the importance of combining the medication with improved diet and exercise.

The researchers come to this conclusion after monitoring the networks ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX during primetime hours for 13 weeks. During that time, they say the networks aired 868 prescription drug commercials, 61 if you remove duplicates.

Dr. Applequist says these findings prove a need for policymakers to take regulatory action in order to ensure pharmaceutical ads promote health and disease awareness above product endorsement.


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of South Florida (USF Health). Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Cite This Page:

University of South Florida (USF Health). "Drug companies selling more 'lifestyle,' less 'symptom'." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 May 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180515105704.htm>.
University of South Florida (USF Health). (2018, May 15). Drug companies selling more 'lifestyle,' less 'symptom'. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 28, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180515105704.htm
University of South Florida (USF Health). "Drug companies selling more 'lifestyle,' less 'symptom'." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180515105704.htm (accessed March 28, 2024).

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