Should drug companies be allowed to advertise prescription drugs on TV?
disclaimer | prescription | potential | assume | rely
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Do the Math
Do the Math
Are prescription drug advertisements dangerous? Consumers who rely on commercials for information about drugs may not get the whole story. These people may not understand the disclaimers that talk about side effects. They may ask their doctor to prescribe a drug that has the potential to be harmful, rather than helpful. People often assume that a drug is the best solution to their health problem.
Option 1:
Option 1:
In 2022, $405.9 billion was spent on prescription drugs in the U.S. This amount is about 10% of the country’s total healthcare costs. Given this information, what were the country’s total approximate healthcare costs in 2022?
A. $4,059 million
B. $40.6 billion
C. $406 trillion
D. $4.06 trillion
Option 2:
Option 2:
One study said that for every $1 a company spends on direct-to-consumer advertising, it will have an increase of $2.20 in sales. In 2016, drug companies spent $6.4 billion on consumer advertising. If the study is correct, the $6.4 billion spent on direct-to-consumer advertising should have caused an increase of how many dollars in sales?
A. $7.68 billion
B. $8.60 billion
C. $20.48 billion
D. $14.08 billion
Discussion Question:
Discussion Question:
In 2016, drug companies spent $6.4 billion on consumer prescription drug ads. In that same year, drug companies spent $20.3 billion marketing drugs to doctors. If companies spend billions of dollars trying to convince doctors to use their products, can we rely on a doctor’s advice? Some people worry that advertising has the potential to affect a doctor’s judgment. Drug companies say that they are just letting doctors know about new and better drugs. Can we assume that doctors’ decisions are not changed by advertising? Why or why not? Should we demand a new kind of disclaimer in the doctor’s office telling us which products have been advertised to our doctors?
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