Trabalho, Educação e Saúde - TES (Work, Education and Health) is an open access scientific journal, edited by the Joaquim Venâncio Polytechnic School of Health, from Oswaldo Cruz Foundation.

Medication advertising: how to reconcile rational use and the permanent need for market expansions?

  • Álvaro Nascimento
  • Álvaro Nascimento

    Tecnologista do Departamento de Ciências Sociais da Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sergio Arouca da Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Ensp/Fiocruz), Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. Mestre e doutorando em Política, Planejamento e Administração em Saúde pelo Instituto de Medicina Social da Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (IMS/Uerj).



Abstract

The pharmaceutical industry, advertising agencies, communication companies, and the retail market have implemented an intense marketing strategy aimed at boosting medication consumption. The scientific and technological revolution, in turn, changed illnesses treatment standards and its impact on the health sector gave rise both to the medicalization phenomenon and to the logic that these goods and services should be considered as merchandise, as any other. This fact brings a challenge about: in medication use, to what extent should therapeutic requirements aimed strictly at controlling diseases prevail? At what point does market pressure begin encouraging drug consumption? The media's exploitation of the symbolic value there is behind the drugs is a powerful instrument to induce behavior to increase product consumption. The magnitude of the problem has forced the State to regulate drug advertisements via laws, decrees, and codes which, through the years, have been being disrespected. On November 30 2000, the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) published Collegiate Board Resolution (CBR) 102, once again in an attempt to impose limits on the sector. Over and beyond the stepped-up inspection efforts, this article discusses the regulation model itself, which has been unable to reach the goals it was designed to achieve.

Keywords

medication,
health surveillance,
ethics in advertising,
regulation,
media

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