Pharmaceutical Advertising and Free Speech: Exploring the Limits

This article discusses the importance of pharmaceutical advertising in enhancing public knowledge about new drugs available in the market. However, it also highlights the need for these advertisements to focus on the ill effects of drugs and the importance of seeking consultation from a doctor. The article suggests that the 'Ask your doctor' campaign should be started by pharmaceutical companies to promote responsible drug consumption.

Communication and social change

Ask your doctor: Pharmaceutical advertising and limits of free speech.
Before the class: Free speech is the constitutional right that has been granted by every country to its
citizens. I always believed that free speech means giving every person the right to speak freely. An
individual must not fear anyone in authority (seniors or governments) while speaking his or her mind.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion and they should make no apologies for that opinion.
Pharmaceutical advertising is aimed at making people aware of new drugs, their ill effects, advantages
as well as availability in the market. Through these advertisments, large pharmaceutical companies
enhance public knowledge about new drugs available in the market. These advertisments are important
to enable people to take over the counter medicines.
I believe that these advertisements are important in enhancing awareness about the basic medication to
people. This way they will be able to take care of themselves in case of any emergency or if a doctor is
not available immediately. They will also be able to carry first aid medicine while travelling and can even
help their fellow companions in case of an issue. Therefore in some way, these advertisements enhance
awareness of people.
I feel these advertisements are important for people but every pharmaceutical advertisements has a
small asterisk mark which reads below ‘conditions apply’. But especially television ads never clearly
depict what these conditions are. This is makes people simply ignore that and continue taking the drug
which serves the purpose of the pharmaceutical company.
After the class: As most of the advertisements do not explain the ill effects of drugs as it is a time
consuming process and they lose out of TRP. But this can create problems as the advertising strategy
adopted by these pharmaceutical companies are aimed at convincing the customers to buy the drug.
Free speech in these pharmaceutical ads must focus on enhancing awareness about the ill effects of the
drug. Upon further research, I understood that there are various YouTube videos created by people
wherein people have demonstrated the side effects of these drugs in order to make the general aware.
I believe this form of free speech where people are helping each other and making videos depicting ill
effects of a particular drug are beneficial for the society at large. One video by the page ‘DoctorsOrders
TV’ explains that even the simplest paracetamol may not work exactly the same one every person taking
the tablet and there are precautions that must be taken. Every person does not has the same body and
it is impossible to know exactly which aspect of one’s body can be harmed by the drug. Therefore, I
believe these advertisements must move towards showing a more realistic picture of the drug and its

consumption. These companies must take onus of ensuring that they do not mislead people into buying
the drug simply because it works for a majority of people.
“Ask your doctor” is the campaign that must be started by these pharmaceutical companies in order to
tell people that asking the doctor and seeking consultation is important and critical for their health.
References
YouTube, (2013), ‘Paracetamol explained’, retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=NW0wjWSHCYY.