ABSTRACT
Des critiques ponctuelles sont parfois adressees aux laboratoires pharmaceutiques sur la qualite des publicites pharmaceutiques qu'ils publient dans les pays en developpement. La presente etude; qui apporte des donnees quantitatives sur les publicites publiees en Afrique francophone; confirme ces critiques. Quarante et une publicites seulement; sur les 141 parues de maniere repetee dans six revues medicales et paramedicales diffusees en Afrique francophone en 1990 se conforment aux regles d'objectivite applicables en France. Les indications des medicaments sont absentes dans 5 publicites et elargies dans 42 autres; les effets indesirables sont absents de 37 publicites et incomplets dans 20 autres; les contre-indications sont absents de 30 publicites et incompletes dans 19 autres
Subject(s)
Advertising , Drug IndustryABSTRACT
"In 1988 WHO updated its criteria for drug promotion; specifying what items of information advertisements to health professionals should usually include. To provide a baseline; we have analysed 6 710 advertisements (ads) for medicines in 18 countries in 1987-88. The medical information in the ads varied widely. Indications were mentioned more often than the negative effects of medicines. The ads gave less pharmacological than medical information. Relatively few were judged to be misleading. Practical information (e.g dosage; package sizes) also varied greatly. Prices were given in many countries with a social security system which pays for the medicines; elsewhere most ads gave no prices. Almost all the ads (96) included one or more pictures. The assessors considered 58 of the pictures irrelevant. Many of the ads lacked clinically important information on contraindications; warnings and adverse effects. The information content of ads in developing countries differed surprisingly little from that in industrialized countries; but the message of the picture may differ more than the text. A picture may convey feelings; attitudes; expectations; dreams; which are hard to describe. Judged by the WHO criteria for medicines promotion; the ads showed important deficiencies. Warnings and precautions were missing in half the ads; and side effects and contraindications in about 40. We did not; however; distinguish between full text and ""reminder"" ads. We believe it is a mistake to regard ads as trivial. If they are not considered seriously they will influence the use of medicines as they are intended to do; but read critically they can provide useful information."