1 Submission to the House of Commons Health Committee Inquiry: The Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry WHY THE BAN ON DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER ADVERTISING OF PRESCRIPTION MEDICINES SHOULD REMAIN IN FORCE Professor Angela Coulter Chief Executive, Picker Institute Europe, King’s Mead House, Oxpens Road, Oxford OX1 1RX. Email: angela.coulter@pickereurope.ac.uk Website: www.pickereurope.org Picker Institute Europe is a registered charity whose mission is to improve the quality of health care through the patient’s eyes. We work with health care providers throughout Europe using scientifically validated questionnaires and rigorous survey methodologies to evaluate the quality of their services and provide them with actionable feedback. The Institute also carries out research and educational activities on health care quality improvement and methods for improving patient-centred care. Angela Coulter, CEO of Picker Institute Europe, was a member of the European Commission’s G10 Medicines High Level Group on Innovation and Provision of Medicines. The Pharmaceutical Industry has been arguing for a relaxation of the current European ban on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription-only medications. Their case rests on three linked arguments: there is a lack of public awareness of many health problems and the potential for treating them; patients want more information about their medicines; it is paternalistic to prevent patients getting access to information that is readily available to their doctors. I shall examine each of these arguments in turn. 1. Promoting disease awareness? It is indeed the case that many health problems go unrecognised in their early stages - for example diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, or raised cholesterol - when early diagnosis and treatment may be beneficial. In addition, people sometimes suffer health problems that they are reluctant to consult their doctors about, either because of the embarrassing nature of the condition or because they