Drug Ads Are Even Sketchier Than You Think. Here’s Why

Turn on the TV at any point and you’ll be bombarded with pharmaceutical commercials. There’s the pill for acid reflux, the one for insomnia, the one for restless leg syndrome—the list is endless. It’s totally comforting to know there’s a tested solution for your particular medical condition. But as this exposé by The Huffington Post points out, studies have found more than half the claims made by drug ads are misleading and 10 percent are blatantly false.¹

The U.S. is one of only two countries (the other is New Zealand) that allows pharmaceutical companies to market their drugs on TV. Thankfully, the FDA is working to develop a better system. You can read more about that here.

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Works Cited

1. Content analysis of false and misleading claims in television advertising for prescription and nonprescription drugs. Faerber AE, Kreling DH. Journal of general internal medicine, 2014, Sep.;29(1):1525-1497.

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