[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             DRUG INDUSTRY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today because, once again, the drug 
industry has lied to the American people in another desperate attempt 
to justify their outrageously high profits. While this fact should 
shock no one--indeed, it has become routine--we must not let their 
ridiculous propaganda go unchallenged.
  On Wednesday, April 7, speaking on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, 
Pfizer CEO Hank McKinnell told listeners that Pfizer spends only two 
percent of its revenue on advertising for prescription drugs. Even 
under the most optimistic projections, that's just fuzzy math.
  In 2003, total advertising expenses for Pfizer were a whopping $2.962 
billion. That's 6.55 percent of the company's revenue, over three times 
the amount cited by Mr. McKinnell. Moreover, a report from Families 
USA, Profiting from Pain: Where Prescription Drug Dollars Go, which was 
based on a review of industry annual financial reports submitted to the 
SEC, found that Pfizer spent 35 percent of its revenue on marketing and 
promotion, and only 15 percent on research development (and 24 percent 
on profit). That same study found that Pfizer spent 8 percent more of 
its revenue on marketing than the average of all companies reviewed.
  Not only does Pfizer and the drug industry lie about the amount of 
money they spend on ads, but the ads also mislead consumers about the 
advertised drugs themselves. According to one advertising executive 
with significant experience with DTC ads, the purpose of advertising is 
not to educate consumer, but rather ``to identify the emotions we can 
tap into to get that customer to take the desired course of action.'' 
Moreover, in a survey of 1,872 people who viewed drug advertisements, 
70 percent said they had learned little or nothing more about the 
conditions the drug is supposed to treat, and over half said they 
learned little or nothing more about the drug being advertised. Very 
few ads informed viewers of how successful the treatment is, what 
alternative treatments are available, how long a patient needs to take 
the drug, or attempts to correct common misconceptions about the 
disease the drug treats. Predictably, a strong majority of doctors--75 
percent--said that the ads caused patients to think that advertised 
drugs work better than they do.
  These ads have contributed to the skyrocketing cost of prescription 
drugs. In fact, a 2000 study showed that nearly half of the increased 
spending on pharmaceuticals was attributable to the fifty most 
advertised prescription drugs.
  Americans have been clamoring for lower prescription drug prices, yet 
all the drug companies have offered them is a string of excuses, empty 
promises, and outright lies. Mr. Speaker, Americans deserve better.

                          ____________________