# Can we regulate spending from pharmaceutical manufacturers? Should we? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 23, 2012, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893 "2012-05-23T23:55:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2012, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893/61 "2012-05-26T16:52:35Z")
Do not drive or operate heavy machinery. Void where taxed or prohibited. Consult your bartender if you have an erection lasting longer than four hours. Side effects may occur, such as waking up next to ugly women. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [February 15, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893/62 "2015-02-15T02:20:21Z")
Interestingly enough, he didn’t make an issue out of DTC advertising. He made an issue out of pretty much everything else the industry does with regard to marketing at the expense of R&D: [Hilarious but also sad seventeen minute segment](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQZ2UeOTO3I) ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893/63 "2015-11-20T05:57:39Z")
I thought I’d revive this thread since no less an authority that the American Medical Association agrees with me: > **[American Medical Association wants to ban ads for prescription drugs](https://www.theverge.com/2015/11/18/9756952/ama-prescription-medicine-advertisements-ban)** > > The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. The AMA claims drug advertisements create high demand for the expensive treatments that patients see on TV and online, when alternative low-cost medical solutions may be available and more effective. The move is one of many new policy changes suggested by the AMA to help make prescription medications more affordable for patients. The group notes that prices on generic and prescription drugs have steadily increased over the years, recently experiencing a 4.7 percent spike in 2015. The AMA claims the billions of dollars pharmaceutical companies spend on ads every year also fuels increases in drug prices. Right now, the United States and New Zealand are the only two countries in the world to allow direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs; nearly $4.5 billion is spent on these advertisements in the US, up by 30 percent over the last two years. The AMA says companies ultimately drive up the prices of their drugs in order to offset such extravagant marketing costs. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893/64 "2015-11-20T06:20:59Z")
> [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](#): > > I thought I’d revive this thread since no less an authority that the American Medical Association agrees with me: Wait a minute. Are you saying that advertising a thing often increases the demand for that thing? Holy shit… that could revolutionize marketing!!! ---
**Author:** ![John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_stamos_left_ear/32/3198_2.png) [@John\_Stamos\_Left\_Ear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Stamos_Left_Ear)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2015, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893/65 "2015-11-20T07:28:59Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Wait a minute. Are you saying that advertising a thing often increases the demand for that thing? Holy shit… that could revolutionize marketing!!! Yeah, that’s why we regulate advertising some products because it shouldn’t be marketed to people who don’t know any better to make informed decisions about those products since we as a society decided that kids shouldn’t smoke or drink. Which is why every country save for us and New Zealand also prohibits DTC advertising, because they are marketing it to people who cannot make informed decisions on those products since we as a society decided that people shouldn’t take many kinds of medication without a doctor’s permission. But thanks for your contribution. Erudite as always. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-we-regulate-spending-from-pharmaceutical-manufacturers-should-we/622893.md?page=3)