November 2004 – Why DTC drug advertising sucks:

If the majority of DTC marketing were based on sound evidence-based medical principles, I would be in strong favor of it. After all, the more information patients have at their disposal, the better.

However, this is simply not the case, as the evidence seems to always interfere with profits. All we see are countless ads for erectile dysfunction, Singulair for allergic rhinitis (a second-line medication), Nexium (which essentially is repackaged Prilosec OTC), and Celebrex (when an NSAID or Tylenol would suffice in the majority with osteoarthritis) to name a few. I won’t even get into Vioxx, which was relentlessly advertised before the realization of adverse cardiovascular data.