- Email: [email protected]
Petitioners' Guide Available From APhA Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties
The Charges Against 0-T-C Medicine AdvertisingAre They Deserved?
consideration should be given to where the interest of the consumer actually lies. Conclusion The Proprietary Association is concerned with the problem of drug abuse and misuse and is anxious to avoid even the possibility that any advertisement might contribute to the problem. And it has been active. To insure high standards in the advertising of nonprescription medicines, the Association's Code of Advertising Practices has been reviewed and strengthened on a number of occasions. It includes provisions such as the following• Advertising of a proprietary medicine should urge the consumer to read and follow label directions. • Advertising of a proprietary medicine should avoid representations by word or picture which, in reasonable construction, are commonly associated with the " drug culture " or which imply a casual attitude toward the use of drugs. • A proprietary medicine should not be ad-
" Up to Eight Hours • .. " (Continued from page 499)
young" laxative? Overall positive information provided: zero. Vick's Sinex (A woman uses one nasal spray on one nostril, a second product on the other). Announcer: " This hidden camera shows.head cold sufferers trying the leading nasal spray and Sinex nasal spray. Both have effective decongestants, but only Sinex has medicated vapors you can feel. " Woman: (points to the nostril which was sprayed with Sinex) " I can tell the difference in this side, but I cannot tell anything different in this side" (points to the other nostril) Announcer: " Soothing, cooling vapors that make Sinex so different."
Petitioners' Guide Available From APhA Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties
For practitioners who may wish to petition the APhA Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties for recognition of a specialty
504
vertised in a manner which is likely to lead to its use by young children without parental supervision. A proprietary medicine should not be advertised on programs or in publications specifically directed toward young children. • A proprietary medicine should not be advertised in a manner which depicts consumers continually relying on medicines as simplistic solutions to emotional or mood problems. • Advertising of a calmative, sedative, or stimulant proprietary medicine should refer to the temporary nature of the relief provided and should recommend the product only for occasional use. The nonprescription medicines industry is vitally interested in eliminating drug abuse and misuse. Progress, we believe, will not be made by presupposing- in the face of evidence to the contrary- that a relationship exists between these problems and television advertising for nonprescription medicines. What is most important and most unfortunate is that while time and energy are being
spent on trying to make TV advertising the scapegoat, valuable resources are not being spent on determining the relevant reasons for misuse and abuse of drugs. The Proprietary Association will continue its research in this area in hope that it will determine the cause of drug abuse and misuse, instead of just what is not.
Second Woman : (sprays nostril) " Wow! I really felt something from that one! Ohhhhhh!" Announcer: " Try Sinex and feel the difference ." Analysis: Neither woman actually said anything about breathing better with Sinex. One said " I can tell the difference " but " difference " is not defined. The second woman " felt something " which also is not defined. The announcer admits that both sprays have " effective decongestants." Neither woman said that she preferred Sinex, nor did the announcer say it was superior. Nevertheless, for reasons unclarified (feel) this commercial leaves behind a definite impression that Sinex is better.
this article . In my opinion , it speaks more to the issue of what advertising could be, and not what it actually is. I'll leave it to you to decide if you agree with the statement that " no reputable advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer" or if there are only a few " dishonest practitoners." In my opinion anything which misleads is in conflict with truth, and truth is a universally understood concept. It is not extraneous demonstration, nor uncompared comparisons, nor inference, inneundo or any other form of double talk . Think about it, and ''Think about your health-Buffer in Does."
In Closing What Does Advertising Do For the Consumer? is the name of the document which was reviewed in the beginning paragraphs of
The author wishes to acknowledge a debt to Paul Stevens (aka Carl P. Wrighter) whose book I Can Sell You Anything (Ballantine Books) made the task of writing this article easier.
in pharmacy and eventual certification of specialists in that area of practice, the Board has made available the Petitioners ' Guide for Specialty Recognition . The Guide outlines the BPS criteria for specialty recognition, procedures for considering petitions, and instructions on the organization and submission of petitions. Also included are the BPS Bylaws and
a synopsis of APhA 's efforts to develop and implement a process of specialty recognition and certification of specialists. The Guide is available free-of-charge from Richard P. Penna, Secretary, Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties, American Pharmaceutical Association, 2215 Constitution Avenue, N. W. , Washington, DC 20037.
e
References 1. Ox toby-Smi th Inc .. " Why Do A,..,erican Youth Use Ill icit Drugs? ," A Summary of the Scientific Literature, New York ( 1971) and Supplements 1- 4 (1975) 2. Milavsky, J.R., Pekowsky, B., and Stipp, H., " TV Drug Ad· vertising and Proprietary and Illicit Drug Use Among Teenage Boys ," The Public Opinion Quarterly, 39 (1976) 3. Hulbert, J., Applying Buyer Behavior Analysis to Social Problems: The Case of Drug Use, Columbia University, New York (197 4) 4. Payne, D.E., " The Relationship Between Te levision Advertis ing and Drug Ab use Among Youth: Fancy and Fact," unpublished article, New York (1974) 5. Federal Trade Commission, Prescri ption Drug Price Disclosures. Staff Study, File No . 742-2383 (1975) 6. Baiter, M.D., Levine, J., and Manheimer, E.l. , "Cross-National Study of the Extent of Anti-Anxiety / Sedative Drug Use," N. Engl. J. Med.. 229, 769- 774 ( 1974) 7. Benham, L. , "Advert ising, Competit ion, and the Price of Eyeglasses. " J. Law Econ.. 4 ( 1972).
e
Acknowledgment
Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Assoc iation
consideration should be given to where the interest of the consumer actually lies. Conclusion The Proprietary Association is concerned with the problem of drug abuse and misuse and is anxious to avoid even the possibility that any advertisement might contribute to the problem. And it has been active. To insure high standards in the advertising of nonprescription medicines, the Association's Code of Advertising Practices has been reviewed and strengthened on a number of occasions. It includes provisions such as the following• Advertising of a proprietary medicine should urge the consumer to read and follow label directions. • Advertising of a proprietary medicine should avoid representations by word or picture which, in reasonable construction, are commonly associated with the " drug culture " or which imply a casual attitude toward the use of drugs. • A proprietary medicine should not be ad-
" Up to Eight Hours • .. " (Continued from page 499)
young" laxative? Overall positive information provided: zero. Vick's Sinex (A woman uses one nasal spray on one nostril, a second product on the other). Announcer: " This hidden camera shows.head cold sufferers trying the leading nasal spray and Sinex nasal spray. Both have effective decongestants, but only Sinex has medicated vapors you can feel. " Woman: (points to the nostril which was sprayed with Sinex) " I can tell the difference in this side, but I cannot tell anything different in this side" (points to the other nostril) Announcer: " Soothing, cooling vapors that make Sinex so different."
Petitioners' Guide Available From APhA Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties
For practitioners who may wish to petition the APhA Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties for recognition of a specialty
504
vertised in a manner which is likely to lead to its use by young children without parental supervision. A proprietary medicine should not be advertised on programs or in publications specifically directed toward young children. • A proprietary medicine should not be advertised in a manner which depicts consumers continually relying on medicines as simplistic solutions to emotional or mood problems. • Advertising of a calmative, sedative, or stimulant proprietary medicine should refer to the temporary nature of the relief provided and should recommend the product only for occasional use. The nonprescription medicines industry is vitally interested in eliminating drug abuse and misuse. Progress, we believe, will not be made by presupposing- in the face of evidence to the contrary- that a relationship exists between these problems and television advertising for nonprescription medicines. What is most important and most unfortunate is that while time and energy are being
spent on trying to make TV advertising the scapegoat, valuable resources are not being spent on determining the relevant reasons for misuse and abuse of drugs. The Proprietary Association will continue its research in this area in hope that it will determine the cause of drug abuse and misuse, instead of just what is not.
Second Woman : (sprays nostril) " Wow! I really felt something from that one! Ohhhhhh!" Announcer: " Try Sinex and feel the difference ." Analysis: Neither woman actually said anything about breathing better with Sinex. One said " I can tell the difference " but " difference " is not defined. The second woman " felt something " which also is not defined. The announcer admits that both sprays have " effective decongestants." Neither woman said that she preferred Sinex, nor did the announcer say it was superior. Nevertheless, for reasons unclarified (feel) this commercial leaves behind a definite impression that Sinex is better.
this article . In my opinion , it speaks more to the issue of what advertising could be, and not what it actually is. I'll leave it to you to decide if you agree with the statement that " no reputable advertiser deliberately misleads the consumer" or if there are only a few " dishonest practitoners." In my opinion anything which misleads is in conflict with truth, and truth is a universally understood concept. It is not extraneous demonstration, nor uncompared comparisons, nor inference, inneundo or any other form of double talk . Think about it, and ''Think about your health-Buffer in Does."
In Closing What Does Advertising Do For the Consumer? is the name of the document which was reviewed in the beginning paragraphs of
The author wishes to acknowledge a debt to Paul Stevens (aka Carl P. Wrighter) whose book I Can Sell You Anything (Ballantine Books) made the task of writing this article easier.
in pharmacy and eventual certification of specialists in that area of practice, the Board has made available the Petitioners ' Guide for Specialty Recognition . The Guide outlines the BPS criteria for specialty recognition, procedures for considering petitions, and instructions on the organization and submission of petitions. Also included are the BPS Bylaws and
a synopsis of APhA 's efforts to develop and implement a process of specialty recognition and certification of specialists. The Guide is available free-of-charge from Richard P. Penna, Secretary, Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties, American Pharmaceutical Association, 2215 Constitution Avenue, N. W. , Washington, DC 20037.
e
References 1. Ox toby-Smi th Inc .. " Why Do A,..,erican Youth Use Ill icit Drugs? ," A Summary of the Scientific Literature, New York ( 1971) and Supplements 1- 4 (1975) 2. Milavsky, J.R., Pekowsky, B., and Stipp, H., " TV Drug Ad· vertising and Proprietary and Illicit Drug Use Among Teenage Boys ," The Public Opinion Quarterly, 39 (1976) 3. Hulbert, J., Applying Buyer Behavior Analysis to Social Problems: The Case of Drug Use, Columbia University, New York (197 4) 4. Payne, D.E., " The Relationship Between Te levision Advertis ing and Drug Ab use Among Youth: Fancy and Fact," unpublished article, New York (1974) 5. Federal Trade Commission, Prescri ption Drug Price Disclosures. Staff Study, File No . 742-2383 (1975) 6. Baiter, M.D., Levine, J., and Manheimer, E.l. , "Cross-National Study of the Extent of Anti-Anxiety / Sedative Drug Use," N. Engl. J. Med.. 229, 769- 774 ( 1974) 7. Benham, L. , "Advert ising, Competit ion, and the Price of Eyeglasses. " J. Law Econ.. 4 ( 1972).
e
Acknowledgment
Journal of the American Pharmaceutical Assoc iation