Krupka L R, Vener A M
Soc Sci Med. 1985;20(3):191-7. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(85)90231-x.
Prescription drug advertisements which appeared in two leading American medical journals in 1972, 1977 and 1982 were analyzed to discover possible trends in advertising. The 5016 ads examined showed that ads for the diuretic-cardiovasculars, especially the beta-adrenergic blocking agents and the slow channel inhibitors, as well as the analgesics, had increased, while ads for the anti-infectives and tranquilizers had diminished. The average amount of space allocated for each ad had increased. On the average, most ads (69%) depicted neither male nor female patients in their graphics, and a trend of increased neutrality was observed. When the hormones were excluded, an average of 21% of the ads showed male patients and 10% showed females. Since a relationship was discerned between the leading drugs advertised and the leading prescriptions filled, it was concluded that advertising does have some effect on the prescribing behavior of practitioners. The findings suggest that great investment in advertising is necessary in order to achieve high levels of sales for such drugs as Valium (diazepam) which do not have a clear-cut ameliorative effect on a specific physiological condition. On the other hand, it was suggested that saturation advertising would not significantly enhance the sales of such drugs as Dyazide (triamterene and hydrochlorothiazide) because of its well established therapeutic value in the control of hypertension. Ten advertising companies, on the average, had purchased 67% of all advertising space and five had purchased almost half (47%). The same two pharmaceutical companies were among the top five advertisers and the same five were among the top ten for the three years studied.
对1972年、1977年和1982年刊登在美国两份主要医学期刊上的处方药广告进行了分析，以发现广告中可能存在的趋势。所审查的5016则广告显示，利尿心血管药物的广告，尤其是β-肾上腺素能阻滞剂和慢通道抑制剂以及镇痛药的广告有所增加，而抗感染药和镇静剂的广告则有所减少。每则广告的平均篇幅有所增加。平均而言，大多数广告（69%）在其图片中既未描绘男性患者也未描绘女性患者，并且观察到一种中立性增加的趋势。排除激素类药物后，平均21%的广告展示男性患者，10%展示女性患者。由于所宣传的主要药物与所开出的主要处方之间存在关联，得出的结论是广告确实对从业者的处方行为有一定影响。研究结果表明，为了使诸如安定（地西泮）这类对特定生理状况没有明确改善作用的药物实现高销量，有必要在广告上进行大量投资。另一方面，有人认为，由于双氢克尿噻（氨苯蝶啶和氢氯噻嗪）在控制高血压方面具有公认的治疗价值，饱和式广告不会显著提高其销量。平均而言，十家广告公司购买了所有广告版面的67%，五家公司购买了几乎一半（47%）。在研究的三年中，同样的两家制药公司位列前五大广告商之中，同样的五家公司位列前十。
