Abstract
Pharmaceutical promotional expenditures are frequently criticized for needlessly increasing the cost of many drugs and for encouraging irrational prescribing. This paper presents an analysis of the financial costs of promotional activity in journal advertisements, direct mailings to physicians and detailing. In 1972, the industry spent $101 million for journal ads, $41 million for mailing expenses and approximately $315 million for detailing. Retail pharmacies reported a 6–7 percent increase in prescriptions filled over the previous year while promotional spending increased only 4 percent.
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