The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 270 No 7233 p116
25 January 2003

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Letters to the Editor

The Industry

Advertisements are reliable and accurate

From Professor T. M. Jones, FRPharmS

There is no question of the pharmaceutical industry either "inventing" diseases or of producing "misleading" advertisements about its products, as alleged in the articles in the BMJ and The Lancet that you reported (PJ, 11 January, p42).

Sexual dysfunction is a real condition that can lead to distress and, potentially, to other conditions such as depression. It is belittling both men and women with such problems, as well as disparaging the health care professionals who work to try to help them, to proclaim that their condition does not really exist.

The industry would be among the first to acknowledge the importance of other therapies and interventions in dealing with conditions of this type. But it would be quite wrong to ignore the assistance that can be given by modem medicines.

It is equally quite wrong for The Lancet article to suggest that advertisements directed at health care professionals by pharmaceutical companies are inaccurate and contain misleading data.

Research for the article was carried out six years ago in Spanish medical journals and, whatever its accuracy, it cannot be extrapolated to apply to the United Kingdom situation. Most of your readers will be familiar with the ABPI Code of Practice, which reflects but goes beyond UK and European law and is vigorously enforced.

Under this, pharmaceutical companies must be able to back up claims about the safety and efficacy of prescription medicines with robust and up-to-date evidence. Complaints under the code are regarded as a serious matter, with sanctions applied to any company found in breach.

Pharmacists, doctors and other health care professionals can be assured that the advertisements for prescription medicines they see are reliable and accurate, and that the claims they make are backed up by the relevant scientific data.

Trevor M. Jones
Director General,
Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry

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