Commentary: Advertising adversities

摘要

Misleading drug advertising in medical journals has been a thorny issue for over 100 years' in many countries. In India, dealing with the pharmaceutical industry and its promotional activities presents some distinctive challenges. Firstly, there is no legislation or statutory organisation such as the Food and Drug Administration in the United States that regulates the accuracy of advertisements for prescription drugs. Secondly, there are no effective watchdog groups such as the Pharmaceutical Advertising Advisory Board in Canada or the Medical Lobby for Appropriate Marketing in Australia. Thirdly, ayurvedic and other non-allopathic medications are widely used and there are few scientific data on these drugs, though they are ubiquitously advertised.