Big bad pharma: an ethical analysis of physician-directed and consumer-directed marketing tactics.

“We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow.”1 This noble mantra is longforgotten in today’s world of extreme pharmaceutical marketing tactics, which are frequently deceptive and supported by biased information. Pharmaceutical manufacturers often appear to forget their moral purpose and instead engage in the hard sell, stopping at nothing to reach their goals. If that means providing false or misleading data to physicians and consumers, then so be it. Pharmaceutical sales teams are a force to be reckoned with, comparable to an army prepared to enter a battle, equipped with powerful tools to take down anyone who stands in their way. Through distribution of free drug samples, skewed marketing materials, meals, and more, the industry engages in deception hidden by a veil of flattery and free gifts.2 Although free sample distribution does present some benefits to patients, it is