The pharmaceutical industry Drug companies go to a great deal of trouble to get the word out about their products. Their influence is pervasive and it's useful for journalists to have little warning flags pop up when the information comes from a pharmaceutical company. While the information need not be invalid, it only stands to reason that there is an agenda and a spin that will favour the product or the company. How companies promote their products and influence consumer and physician decision-making is a complex and controversial area. The more you understand about the process the better you will be able to navigate through the minefields of company-sponsored bumf.
Pharmaceutical companies are masters of the advertorial.
All that said, few advances have had such an impact on the quality of life in Western culture as the introduction of pharmaceutical agents. And of course, they are costly to produce and require a free-market economy in which to thrive. The area of complementary medicine usually has a built-in polarization that can be troublesome or provocative depending on your point of view. Often the differences in approach and opinion are related to the scientific methods and the way in which anecdotal evidence takes the place of rigorous research. None of this is good or bad, but it does require special challenges.