Drug Promotional Literature

Definition & overview

• Drug promotion (WHO 1988) — "all informational and persuasive activities by manufacturers and distributors, the effect of which is to induce the prescription, supply, purchase and/or use of medicinal drugs" — the examiner-preferred one-line definition.
• Promotional product literature — graphic and/or written material prepared by/for one party and made available to the public for the purpose of promoting or marketing a particular product or brand.
• Dual nature — it is genuinely a source of drug information (class, effects, side effects, interactions, contraindications) yet fundamentally an advertising tool, not impartial education — the tension that makes critical appraisal essential.
• Literature tiers — distinguish the informational tiers from the promotional one:
  • Primary — original research / clinical-trial reports (most authoritative).
  • Secondary — indexing/abstracting databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Embase).
  • Tertiary — distilled sources — textbooks, formularies, drug compendia (e.g. MIMS/CIMS).
  • Promotional product literature — a form of advertising: informative and persuasive.
• Differs from mass-media advertising — more selective (controlled distribution to a sharply-defined prescriber audience); initial readership ≈ 100% in that targeted group; can move directly to its persuasive goal because the recipient already has an established interest.
• Why it matters — (ir)rational prescribing — KDT lists "drug promotion and unrealistic claims" and "unethical inducements (gifts, dinners, conference delegation)" among the recognised factors influencing prescribing; promotion that distorts drug choice, duration or cost drives irrational prescribing (more ADRs, antimicrobial resistance, out-of-pocket cost). Critical appraisal is therefore a rational-prescribing skill, not just a regulatory exercise.