Study on the Power and Perils of Puffery in Pharmaceutical Advertising

Abstract

Advertisers try to persuade people to buy a product or service through various means and methods. A company may deliver an entertaining message about its product, compare the product to a similar item, list facts about the product, or make vague claims about the product which cannot be proved or disapproved. This last method is known as "puffery" — the advertiser "puffs up" the product to more than it actually is. Puffery cannot be termed illegal which makes it a common method for advertising. With enormous potential for earning sizeable profits, the pharmaceutical industry clearly has displayed a vested interest in influencing health care professionals of which medicines should be prescribed and dispensed to patients. Companies indulge in promoting their products by various means to maximize their Return -on investments. Health Care professionals get highly influenced by pharmaceutical marketing advertisements because they are subjected to repeated activities and promotion campaigns. Evidence shows that exposure to information from these companies does not directly lead to any improvements in prescribing, but can exhibit a negative effect on their professional behaviour which in turn affect the patients and their families. This study attempts to identify the methods used in pharmaceutical promotion and its impact on clinical practice and public health.

Keywords: puffery, ethical values, pharmaceutical advertisements, clinical practice, public health