Drug promotion and advertising in teaching environments: elements for debate

The pharmaceutical industry uses advertising to promote its products. Controlled drugs can only be advertised to professionals who are licensed to prescribe or dispense them. This paper makes an extensive review of scientific articles that discuss the ethical and legal implications of drug promotion and advertising in medical teaching environments. It concludes that self-regulation of drug advertising is not justified and that there is sufficient evidence showing how the power of the pharmaceutical industry is capable of influencing decisions made within the physician-patient relationship, in which promotion and advertising are among the tools used. This paper advocates complete prohibition of drug promotion and advertising in teaching environments, and the incorporation of this issue in students' education. Given that the current legislation permits advertising of prescription drugs only to physicians and pharmacists, it is emphasized that such advertising is illegal when it reaches medical and pharmacy students.