[Ip-health] ANA Mobilizes Members To Preserve Tax Deductibility of Prescription Drug Advertising Costs

Tue Jun 23 19:48:39 2009

One of my colleagues here in Canada, Marc-Andre Gagnon, has been
looking at this issue. His e mail is ma.gagnon@umontreal.ca

Cheers,

Joel Lexchin

Quoting Joana Ramos <jdr@ramoslink.info>:

> Anyone know any this more about  this?   The matter was just  brought up
> on the Healthy Skepticism listserv.  ANA is the Association of National
> Advertisers.
>
> The advertising referred to by ANA is  DTCA, or Direct to Consumer
> Advertising.
> For the record, only the US and New Zealand permit DTCA, although pharma
> has been continuing  efforts  to try to reverse the bans in the EU,
> Canada, etc.
>
> Note that there is no mention of a bill #, just  that this is a
> "proposal," I did a quick search on Thomas , and of the 49 hits for
> "advertising", I did not find  anything  specific to this.
>
>
> Joana
>
> ---------------
>
> http://www.ana.net/news/content/1776
>
> /ANA Urges Members to Reach Out to House Ways and Means Committee and
> //Senate Finance Committee to Avert a Serious Threat to Increase the
> Cost of Advertising/
>
> *New York**, NY** - June 18, 2009 - *The nation's largest advertisers
> are mobilizing to prevent Congress from imposing restrictions on the tax
> deductibility of the cost of advertising prescription drugs.
>
> Leading members of the House Ways and Means Committee are considering a
> proposal that would eliminate the tax deductibility for prescription
> medications, while a similar proposal is gaining traction in the Senate
> Finance Committee.
>
> "Denying the tax deduction for advertising costs for one industry would
> be unprecedented, and would raise very serious First Amendment
> concerns," said Dan Jaffe, Executive Vice President, Government
> Relations, ANA.  "The Supreme Court has made clear that differential
> taxes on the basis of the content of an ad are unconstitutional."  Jaffe
> emphasized that, "Consumers benefit greatly from prescription medication
> advertising, as it informs them about life-threatening diseases such as
> high blood pressure, strokes, diabetes and asthma and encourages them to
> consult their physician about available treatments."
>
> *Proof that DTC Advertising Works*
>
> Several studies indicate that medical advertising directly benefits
> consumers. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has said that
> advertising helps reduce undiagnosed and under-treated medical
> conditions.  This includes the 6 million Americans who suffer from
> diabetes but have not been diagnosed and the 18 million Americans who
> are unaware that they are suffering from the "silent killer" high blood
> pressure.
>
> /Health Affairs/ reported on the important role of the physician during
> visits prompted by seeing a prescription medication ad:
>
>    * 57 percent of the visits resulted in diagnostic tests
>    * 52 percent resulted in a recommendation for a lifestyle change
>    * 32 percent of the patients were referred to a specialist
>    * Prescriptions were written by the physician in 72 percent of the
>      visits
>
>
> Restrictions on advertising for medications limit the ability to educate
> the public on health conditions. Out of 3,000 patients in a
> Massachusetts General study, 35 percent discussed an ad for a medication
> during their appointment.  Of that population 25 percent received a new
> diagnosis.  Approximately 43 percent of the new diagnoses were for "high
> priority" conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, depression and high
> cholesterol.
>
> A 2004 survey conducted by /Prevention/ found 65 million patients spoke
> to a physician as a result of seeing an ad for a prescription
> medication.  Almost half that number of patients spoke to a physician
> about a specific medical condition for the first time because they saw
> an ad.
>
> *The ANA's Call to Action*
>
>
>
> The ANA is encouraging its 360 members who collectively spend more than
> $200 billion in marketing communications and advertising, to take their
> case to members of the House Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance
> Committee and express their strong opposition to any restrictions on the
> deductibility of marketing costs for prescription drug products.
>
> "Eliminating advertising tax deductibility for one industry could be the
> beginning of a dangerous slippery slope that would potentially imperil
> many other product categories," said Bob Liodice, President and CEO,
> ANA. "In these challenging economic times, it would be incredibly
> counterproductive to make any form of advertising more expensive by
> taxing it. Advertising is critical to the economic recovery of our
> nation.  It helps generate $6 trillion in economic activity annually and
> supports more than 21 million jobs."
>
> A copy of ANA's letter to the House and Senate tax writing committees is
> available here. <http://www.ana.net/advocacy/getfile/15253>
>
> To schedule an interview with ANA President and CEO, Bob Liodice, or
> EVP/Government Relations, Dan Jaffe, contact:
>
> Lesley Neadel
> CooperKatz & Company for the ANA
> (917)595-3034
> lneadel@cooperkatz.com <mailto:lneadel@cooperkatz.com>
>
>
>
>
>
> -----------------
> Joana Ramos, MSW
> Director
> Washington Coalition for Prescribing Integrity
> Seattle, WA
> 206-229-2420
> warxreform@gmail.com
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