Differences in Information Provided Between Thai and International Advertisements of the Same Drugs

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare differences of information provided in Thai drug advertisements (ads) and foreign drug ads. The advertisements included in the study had to have the same generic name in both Thai and foreign ads. Twenty Thai ads were collected from medical companies, hospitals and Thai medical journals. Twenty foreign ads were collected from foreign medical journals such as The Lancet and JAMA published during 2000-2003.
   Results showed that there were 5 criterion that the same proportion of Thai and foreign ads provided information: brand name (100%), indication (95%), initial dose (30%), duration of therapy (30%), and the manufacturer or importer name (95%). However, there were 9 criteria by which Thai ads provided less information than foreign ads, but there was no statistical significance. The criteria were generic name, formula, adverse drug reaction, contraindication, precaution, package size, legal category, reference and price. The only criterion by which Thai ads provided had significantly less information than foreign ads was the information on drug interaction (30% vs. 65%; p = 0.028).
   In addition, there were 3 criteria by which Thai ads provided more information than foreign ads, but they were not significant. The information was the pharmacological group of drugs, standard dose and stability. However, there were 3 criteria by which Thai ads provided significantly more information than foreign ads: dosage form (70% vs. 50%; p = 0.046), storage (95% vs. 70%; p = 0.046) and administration (25% vs. 0%; p = 0.024).
   In addition the results showed that most Thai and foreign ads used the alphabet size of 3 mm or larger to describe the information on brand name, generic name and indication. However, they used the alphabet size of less than 3 mm to describe the information on formula, standard dose, initial dose, adverse drug reaction, contraindication, precaution, duration of therapy, storage, package size, legal category, administration, drug interaction and reference.
   Results from the study indicated that there are double standards of information provided in Thai and foreign ads even though the drugs had the same generic names and were manufactured by the same company. Health personnel should use other sources of information, in addition to the information from the ads, to prescribe drugs.