Medication advertising, directed at both patients and professionals, concerns a very peculiar practice, as its misuse can lead to serious and sometimes unavoidable health damage to citizens. Medication advertising faces numerous challenges, including ethical, legal, and social issues.
This circumstance, combined with the fact that medications are not common consumer goods but rather health products, subjects their advertising to specific rules. Therefore, establishing regulations or guidelines to minimize doubts or loopholes is crucial..
Resolution RDC No. 96/2008 from the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) currently governs over-the-counter medication advertising, updates rules for prescription medication disclosure, and outlines conditions for advertising at scientific events, social campaigns, and the distribution of free samples.
Based on this resolution, ANVISA defines medication advertising as the “set of techniques and activities of information and persuasion aimed at disseminating knowledge, making a product or brand better known and/or esteemed, with the aim of influencing the public” to “promote and/or induce prescription, dispensing, acquisition, and use of medication.”
That said, some basic points should be highlighted, such as the distinct treatment given to prescription medication advertising and over-the-counter medication advertising. In the former case, it is known that it should only be directed at healthcare professionals qualified to prescribe or dispense the medications in question. In the latter, it can be directed to the general public.
Advertisement texts should bring technical terms written in a way that facilitates public understanding, and the cited references should be available in the Consumer Service (SAC).
Advertisements cannot associate the product with adjectives alluding to properties that impress the senses, such as “tasty.” The product’s flavor can only be advertised textually as, for example, “strawberry flavor,” but it cannot include illustrative images, as they might suggest that the product contains the fruit in its composition instead of just the flavor.
The resolution prohibits the non-declared advertising airing in movies, theatrical performances, and soap operas. Also, showing individuals impersonating healthcare professionals, wearing their respective uniforms, and providing explanations about the medication is not allowed. Lay celebrities in medicine, for example, can appear or have their voices used in medication advertisements.
However, there are still some restrictions on influencer marketing, such as those relating to statements indicating the personal use of the item or recommending it. Imperative expressions like “use,” “take,” or “try” are prohibited. The participation of celebrities should be strictly limited to providing information such as the indication and other characteristics of the medication.
In addition to the traditional information already required, over-the-counter medication advertising must include warnings regarding the active ingredients, such as not recommending use during pregnancy or other cases. These warnings need to be verbalized in digital media and, in print, the font size cannot be smaller than 20% of the largest font size used in the ad.
On the other hand, advertising of compounded medications is not allowed, since they are produced in a customized manner and are not suitable for use by any individual. However, pharmaceutical companies can distribute informational material about such medications to professionals qualified to prescribe them.
Medication Advertising falls under the remit of two institutions: the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) and the National Council for Self-Regulation in Advertising (CONAR). Non-compliance with the applied regulations can be investigated by both institutions, as well as reaching the judiciary in certain cases.
The pandemic underscored the importance of these issues and introduced new elements, highlighting the need for greater transparency and responsibility. Advertising medications for off-label uses, not indicated on the label and unauthorized by regulators, remains a prohibited practice due to its significant threat to consumer health and safety.