iStock/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) — Should drug advertisements be banned?
The American Medical Association is now calling for a ban on direct to consumer advertising after the physicians adopted a new policy to try to make prescription drugs more affordable.
According to AMA Board Chair-elect Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. in a statement, the vote was in a result of concern among physicians that commercials and other promotions is helping to fuel growing drug prices.
“Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate,” said Harris.
The U.S. and New Zealand are the only countries in the world that currently allow direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs.
According to market research firm Kantar Media, drug makers have spent $4.5 billion in advertising, up 30 percent from the last two years.
The AMA says the new policy will launch a task force and an advocacy campaign to “promote prescription drug affordability by demanding choice and competition in the pharmaceutical industry, and greater transparency in prescription drug prices and costs.”
Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
