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An excerpt from:

"Ottawa must protect public from drug ads", The Toronto Star, 8 March 2002

Doctors critical of direct-to-consumer marketing argue that advertising leads to increased work loads for doctors who are then required to interpret the information presented by the drug company. The New England Journal of Medicine study reported that in surveys of Americans, 25 per cent "initiated conversations" with their doctors about a drug they saw advertised on television.

Canada has bacome incredibly lax about enforcing restrictions on drug advertisements. The Canadian Institute on Health Information says Canadians now spend more on drugs than on doctors. In fact, drugs represent the fastest growing expense in the health care budget. Our nation is in the midst of a discussion on the sustainability of our health care system as part of Roy Romanow's Royal Commission.

Besides dropping the barriers that many Canadians face in accessing medically necessary drugs, we must call for a ban on direct-to-consumer marketing in the interest of the public good.