In 1993, drug companies advertised only in specialty publications with medical and scientific readerships. Now pharmaceuticals are the third biggest consumer advertising category in the U.S., behind cars and home electronics. The second part, required by law, is a few million words in micro-print giving a summary of relevant research findings on side effects, efficacy and other things few of us are qualified to understand. The toxic effects of these consumer-oriented drug ads may be partly to blame for another outbreak of dubious science. The victim in this case is the New Yorker , once a bastion of responsible science coverage for the lay reader.
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