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Judith, Unfortunately this is the kind of thing that we have been dealing with for many years. In the States at least there has been a limit put on the size and kind of gifts . One friend for instance took a trip to Arizona (from Wisconsin )at drug company expense (prior to the limits). The question of where legitimate advertising leaves off and bribery begins is a serious question. Drug companies have a right to advertise and try to convince physicians as to the usefulness of their drugs. What they can say is strictly limited by the FDA here at least but what they don't say about their competitors and their own drugs can be significant. Their educational exhibits like the ones mentioned in the piece you give can also be useful. Funding of medical conferences can be problematic unless strict controls are exerted to be sure all views are heard. I sometimes would see drug "detail" men but with a lot of skepticism. They might at times provide useful information about a new drug or answer questions about an old one. Some were straight with me about the side effects of drugs and some minimized and were more like used car salesmen (and women- usually young and attractive) than professionals. The tendency for drug companies to advertise directly to the public is something I also give mixed reviews. Education as to the fact that something is out there for a particular problem- (like Bob Dole and Viagra, or the signs and symptoms of depression) can be incredibly useful. But the pushing of a particular product is in my view often a means to push doctors into prescribing a more expensive drug when it has no advantage over another. The public learned about this only because the Congress was open to everyone and therefore the exhibits were too. Charlie judith richards wrote: > 29 July 1999 > Drug firms go all out to dazzle doctors > > Pamela Fayerman, Sun Health Issues Reporter Vancouver Sun > > Pharmaceutical companies trying to sell doctors drugs to prescribe now > employ almost as much technology in their pitch as they do in > researching their remedies. > > The 2,400 brain surgeons and neurologists who gathered in Vancouver this > week to exchange information at the 13th International Congress on > Parkinson's Disease were offered the usual trinkets -- pens and scissors > emblazoned with drug firms' names, key chain currency-exchange > calculators, hand-held brain teaser games, T-shirts, sweaters and > briefcases. > > They swarmed the booths handing out the freebies -- after all, you don't > have to be a brain surgeon to recognize free stuff when you see it. > > But in an era in which there are now dozens of drugs for Parkinson's, > resulting in nearly two million prescriptions worth $70 million for > sufferers in Canada alone each year, drug companies have to be creative > in persuading doctors to consider their drugs. > > The task is made more difficult by the fact that there is just one > meeting of this magnitude every other year for the World Federation of > Neurology. > > One company, SmithKline Beecham, offered a variety of free items. > > The company markets a new drug called ReQuip and went so far as to call > it "revolutionary" because it reduces the side effects associated with > levdopa, the standard therapy for Parkinson's. > > But in addition to the freebies, SmithKline Beecham was using the latest > in high technology to give doctors a chance to experience the jerky, > involuntary movements Parkinson's patients must deal with. > > A digital media company created a virtual reality simulation model in > which the user had to try to pour water from a tea kettle into a cup > while holding a handle that mimicked the dyskinesia Parkinson's > sufferers get when taking levdopa. > > Andrew Boston, product manager for ReQuip in Canada, said the splashy > booth set up by SmithKline at the meeting that ended Wednesday was meant > to grab the attention of doctors. > > "For the majority of products, it takes about 10 years to get a good > foothold, so it's a challenge because our drug has only been available > for two years and doctors' prescribing habits are pretty entrenched," he > said. > > The credit for the most unique and extravagant booth had to go to DuPont > Pharma, which markets a drug called Sinemat CR and pulled out all the > stops in attracting delegates' attention by constructing a three-room > house, the cost of which it would not disclose. > > Doctors could experience some of the same problems of their patients in > the house. They could stand on a wobbly kitchen floor to get the feeling > of gait instability. They could sit in a vibrating living room armchair > to understand what it feels like to experience resting tremors. > > Then, with magnets placed under their feet while standing on a special > floor, they could relate to how it feels when Parkinson's patients > freeze even when they're trying to move. > > http://www.vancouversun.com/ > -- > Judith Richards, London, Ontario, Canada > [log in to unmask] > ^^^^ > \ / > \ | / Today’s Research > \\ | // ...Tomorrow’s Cure > \ | / > \|/ > ````` -- ****************************************************************************************** Charles T. Meyer, M.D. Middleton (Madison), Wisconsin [log in to unmask] ******************************************************************************************