The AMA and drug ads

Eight years ago the American Medical Association voted to allow drugs to be advertised on television. And drugs are advertised; the revenue for the tv people from the ads in 2014 was about $4.5 billion. The ads do include the potential negative side effects of the drugs but they are recited when the scene is very placid and are difficult to understand. Only two countries in the world allow drug companies to engage in direct-to-consumer advertising that includes product claims - the U.S. and New Zealand.

Now the association has had second thoughts and want to ban advertising as it makes patients seek out expensive treatments and artificially inflates demand for the drugs.