The advertisements also create large amounts of revenue for pharmaceutical companies. Many times in the limited 30 second commercial segment, drug companies don't have time to get in all of the necessary information (especially the risks). Is DTCA really helping society be more informed, or is it hurting?
According to an article by the New York Times, Yaz and Yasmin, the most popular birth control pill has not been following FDA requirements with their DTCA. Yasmin was first released to the public by Bayer as a contraceptive, but it also claimed that it cleared up acne, help with emotional problems caused by premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Although it can effectively be used for these things, the company did not put a large enough emphasis on the risks. Bayer has been served with 74 lawsuits of women who say they have suffered major health problems after taking Yasmin, such as blood clots and stroke. The company will fight against these lawsuits, but they have had to make a $20 million corrective advertising campaign. It may be difficult for the victims to win the cases if they say they were ignorant to the side effects, because they are printed on the prescription. What they may be able to win is that the advertisements were misleading and they enticed the women to take the pills.
It will be hard to say who will win these cases, but this is not the only prescription drug to have misleading information in their DTCA. Some major drugs have been taken off the market because of this very reason. So the question is, is DTCA hurting the American public or helping it?
