BACKGROUND For the purpose of understanding the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) concerns regarding online promotion of prescription drugs advertised directly to consumers, this study examines notices of violations (NOVs) and warning letters issued by the FDA to pharmaceutical manufacturers. METHODS The FDA's warning letters and NOVs, which were issued to pharmaceutical companies over a...

We examine the effect of direct mail (commonly referred to as junk mail) advertising on individual financial decisions by studying consumer choice of debt contracts. Consistent with the theoretical predictions, we find that financial variables underlying the relative pricing of debt contracts are the leading factors explaining consumers debt choice. Furthermore, we also find that the intended u...

Although direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements for pharmaceuticals have been appearing in the mass media for 20 years, DTC advertisements for genetic testing have only recently appeared. Advertisements for genetic testing can provide both consumers and physicians with information about test availability in an expanding market. However, 3 factors limit the value and appropriateness of advertis...

In August, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) sought to curb growing public criticism over its consumer advertising practices by releasing voluntary advertising guidelines. The document stated that drug advertising should serve the public health by “ increasing awareness about diseases ” and “ educating patients about treatment options. ” The voluntary PhRMA gui...

In the realm of counterinsurgency (COIN), the currency is intelligence. In other words— as the Counterinsurgency Field Manual succinctly puts it—intelligence drives operations. “Good” intelligence provides precision, helping the counterinsurgent eliminate insurgents from the populace “like surgeons cutting out cancerous tissue while keeping other vital organs intact.” Within this surgical effor...