New Zealand
New Zealand and the United States are the only high-income countries that allow unrestricted advertising of prescription medicines directly to consumers. In an editorial in the New Zealand Medical Journal, the authors say that the available evidence shows that banning direct-to-consumer ads would help promote population health, and the new Therapeutic Products Bill being developed this year is a chance to enforce this. Studies suggest that direct-to-consumer ads can lead to over-diagnosis and over-treatment, and an analysis of ads in the US found that only 16% included information about risk factors. The authors conclude that the government's main arguments for allowing direct-to-consumer advertising to continue in New Zealand are unsustainable, and are also remarkably similar to the arguments from pharmaceutical industry body Medicines New Zealand.
From:
New Zealand and the USA are the only two high-income countries that permit direct-to- consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines. Research evidence supports the policy of most countries in banning DTCA. The rationale given by the New Zealand government for continuing to allow DTCA does not stand up to scrutiny.
Sign In
