Shapiro M F
CMAJ. 1997 Feb 1;156(3):359-61.
As Dr. Joel Lexchin makes painfully obvious in this issue (see pages 351 to 356), regulatory processes governing pharmaceutical advertising in Canada and elsewhere are seriously compromised. However, the remedial measures Lexchin proposes are not sufficient. Financial sanctions against improper advertising are likely to be regarded by manufacturers as the cost of doing business, and any regulatory body that includes drug industry representatives or individuals receiving financial support from the drug industry cannot be genuinely independent. Moreover, manufacturers are now using promotional strategies that are particularly difficult to regulate. These include providing drugs at lower than the usual cost to ensure their inclusion in managed-care formularies, and using direct-to-consumer advertising to take advantage of the public's lack of sophistication in interpreting scientific evidence. Our best hope of counteracting the power and influence of the drug industry lies in regulation by government agencies, whose interest is the protection of the public.
正如乔尔·莱克辛博士在本期文章中令人痛心疾首地指出的那样（见第351至356页），加拿大及其他地方管理药品广告的监管程序受到了严重损害。然而，莱克辛提议的补救措施并不充分。对不当广告的经济制裁很可能会被制造商视为经营成本，而且任何包括制药行业代表或接受制药行业资金支持的个人的监管机构都不可能真正独立。此外，制造商现在采用的促销策略尤其难以监管。这些策略包括以低于通常成本的价格提供药品，以确保其被纳入管理式医疗药品目录，以及利用面向消费者的直接广告来利用公众在解读科学证据方面的缺乏经验。我们对抗制药行业的权力和影响力的最大希望在于政府机构的监管，政府机构的利益在于保护公众。
