Unhealthy marketing of pharmaceutical products: An international public health concern

Summary, in English

I consider the current state of pharmaceutical marketing vis-à-vis ethical and legal standards and advocate measures to improve it. There is abundant evidence of unethical or illicit marketing. It fuels growing concerns about undue corporate influence over pharmaceutical research, education, and consumption. The most extensive evidence of industry transgressions comes from the United States (US), where whistle-blowers are encouraged by financial rewards to help uncover illicit marketing and fraud. Outside the US increasing evidence of transgressions exists. Recently we have observed a range of new measures to align pharmaceutical marketing practices with ethical and legal standards. In the interest of public health, I highlight the need for additional and more profound reforms to ensure that information about medicines supports quality and resource-efficient care.

• Author: Shai Mulinari
• Department/s: Sociology
• Publishing year: 2016-02-25
• Language: English
• Pages: 149-159
• Publication/Series: Journal of Public Health Policy
• Volume: 37
• Issue: 2
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/jphp.2016.6
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Topic: Health Care Service and Management, Health Policy and Services and Health Economy; Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
• Status: Published
• Project: The dilemma of the swine flu vaccine
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 0197-5897