Soon after I became a physician it became obvious that the pharmaceutical industry clearly reported the benefit of their medicines, but had a tendency to downplay or forget their risks and side effects. There was no advertising to the public permitted in those days. The drug representatives tended to minimize any known side effects or hazards. Adverse information regarding the product was buried in tiny print somewhere in the product brochure or not mentioned altogether. Advertising only appeared in the medical journals.
In recent years, advertisements in the public media became common. Patients who are completely uneducated regarding the risks and hazards of taking medicines often demand a medicine when none is needed and may be inappropriate.
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