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Ask your doctor: From prescription drug advertising to physician’s prescription

Ongoing proposals by the European Commission to adapt the current ban on direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription drugs (DTCA) are generating much public debate. This article reviews the –mainly US based– empirical evidence for the effects of DTCA on a) consumers’ exposure, b) consumers’ requests for advertised drugs, and c) physicians’ reactions to these requests, and discusses how the Dutch and broader European context can impact upon these effects. It is concluded that there is empirical evidence for DTCA’s impact on American consumers and physicians, but also that the European context is likely to reduce the strength of these effects.