{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,24]],"date-time":"2025-12-24T02:44:35Z","timestamp":1766544275347,"version":"3.48.0"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"6720","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]],"date-time":"1990-02-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":634003200000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/www.bmj.com\/company\/legal-information\/terms-conditions\/legal-information\/tdm-licencepolicy"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMJ"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Since 1958 the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) has attempted to regulate the promotion of prescription medicines through its code of practice. This regulation is described and analysed for the six years 1983-8 using the reports on 302 complaints considered by its code of practice committee and annual reports. The complaints came mainly from doctors (143, 48%) and competing companies (103, 33%). The committee found a total of 379 breaches of the code in 192 (63%) of the complaints. Additional breaches were detected by informational scrutiny of advertisements by the ABPI secretariat. Analysis showed that 270 (71%) of these breaches involved possible breaches of the Medicines Act. The rules that forbid misleading or unsubstantiated information and misleading claims or comparisons were broken most often. The committee found the most frequent offenders to be Organon (32 breaches), Smith Kline and French (23), Glaxo (21), A H Robins (18), Bayer (17), Merck Sharp and Dohme (17), and Lederle (16). Often the promotion of one product led to several breaches. The promotional wars over histamine H2 receptor antagonists accounted for 33 breaches. It is estimated that in 1983-8 about 100 breaches of the code were detected a year. In the 18 years 1972-88 the Medicines Act was breached probably over 1200 times. Health ministers, by not enforcing the regulations controlling promotion, have abrogated their responsibility to the ABPI, but the evidence suggests that the code has failed to deter promotional excesses. The ABPI's wish to secure compliance with the code seems weaker than its wish to pre-empt outside criticism and action: its self regulation seems to be a service to itself rather than to the public. It is suggested that the code of practice committee should become publicly accountable, that the majority of its members should represent the health professions and the public, and that effective sanctions are needed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.300.6720.307","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2009,4,2]],"date-time":"2009-04-02T15:19:55Z","timestamp":1238685595000},"page":"307-311","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":34,"title":["Promotion by the British pharmaceutical industry, 1983-8: a critical analysis of self regulation."],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"300","author":[{"given":"A","family":"Herxheimer","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"J","family":"Collier","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","article-title":"the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Code of practice for the pharmaceutical industry. In: ABPI data sheet compendium 1989-90","volume-title":"vii-xv","author":"Association of","year":"1989","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Code of practice for the pharmaceutical industry. In: ABPI data sheet compendium 1989-90. London: Datapharm, 1989:vii-xv. (6th ed, 1984; 7th ed, 1988.)","edition":"6th ed"},{"key":"ref_2","article-title":"the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Code of Practice Committee. Case reports","volume":"2","author":"Association of","year":"1982","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, Code of Practice Committee. Case reports. London: ABPI, 1982-3. (Vol 1, 1979 and 1980; Vol 2, 1981 and 1982.)"},{"first-page":"4","article-title":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 786\/1\/89. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1989; 28","key":"ref_3","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 786\/1\/89. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1989;28:4-5."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"508","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.4.5995.508","article-title":"Information contained in drug advertisements","volume":"iv:","author":"Stimson, G.V.","year":"1975","unstructured":"Stimson GV. Information contained in drug advertisements. Br Med J 1975;iv:508-9.","journal-title":"Br Med J"},{"key":"ref_5","first-page":"3","article-title":"The bogus drugs testing at heart of sales drive aimed at GPs","volume-title":"Guardian","volume":"10","author":"Erlichman, J.","year":"1986","unstructured":"Erlichman J. The bogus drugs testing at heart of sales drive aimed at GPs Guardian 1986;Sept 10:3."},{"key":"ref_6","first-page":"3","article-title":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 640\/9\/86. Code of Practice: Reports to Chief","volume":"15","year":"1986","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 640\/9\/86. Code of Practice: Reports to Chief Executives 1986;15:3-4.","journal-title":"Executives"},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"3","article-title":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 775\/11\/88. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives","volume":"27","year":"1989","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 775\/11\/88. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1989;27:3."},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"5","article-title":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 712\/12\/87. Code of'","volume-title":"Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1988","volume":"22","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 712\/12\/87. Code of' Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1988;22:5-7."},{"key":"ref_9","first-page":"1","article-title":"Relationships between doctors and salesmen are lurching out of control","author":"Mangold, T.","year":"1983","unstructured":"Mangold T. Relationships between doctors and salesmen are lurching out of control. Listener 1983;110(20 Jan): 1-2.","journal-title":"Listener"},{"first-page":"2","article-title":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 459\/4\/83. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1983; 2","key":"ref_10","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 459\/4\/83. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1983;2:2-3."},{"first-page":"6","article-title":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 566\/4\/85. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1985; 10","key":"ref_11","unstructured":"Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. Case 566\/4\/85. Code of Practice: Reports to ChiefExecutives 1985;10:6-7."},{"article-title":"Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Relationship of the Pharmaceutical Indust1y with the National Health Service 1965-1967","year":"1967","key":"ref_12","unstructured":"Report of the Committee of Enquiry into the Relationship of the Pharmaceutical Indust1y with the National Health Service 1965-1967. London: HMSO, 1967. (Chairman Lord Sainsbury.) (Cmnd 3410.)"},{"key":"ref_13","first-page":"13","article-title":"Roussel convicted of misleading promotion","volume":"1","author":"Collier, J.; Herxheimer, A.","year":"1987","unstructured":"Collier J, Herxheimer A. Roussel convicted of misleading promotion. Lancet 1987;i: 1 13-4.","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_14","first-page":"1349","article-title":"Medicines Act passes crucial test","volume":"i:","author":"CollierJ, Herxheimer A.","year":"1988","unstructured":"CollierJ, Herxheimer A. Medicines Act passes crucial test. Lancet 1988;i: 1349.","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_15","article-title":"Social Security. Promotion of medicines. Medicines Act Inforsnation Letter","volume-title":"Advertising of medicinal products","volume":"17","author":"Department of Health and Social Security.","year":"1981","unstructured":"Department of Health and Social Security. Promotion of medicines. Medicines Act Inforsnation Letter 1981 Sep: 5. (No 31.) 17 Department of Health and Social Security. Advertising of medicinal products."},{"article-title":"Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association. Code of conduct","year":"1960","key":"ref_16","unstructured":"Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers' Association. Code of conduct. Sydney: APMA, 1960. (Adopted 6 December 1988.)"},{"key":"ref_17","first-page":"713","article-title":"Drug promotional problems. Med3'Aust","volume":"149","author":"Randall, H.","year":"1988","unstructured":"Randall H. Drug promotional problems. Med3'Aust 1988;149:713."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"463","article-title":"Drug promotional problems","volume":"150","author":"Randall, H.","year":"1989","unstructured":"Randall H. Drug promotional problems. MedjAust 1989;150:463.","journal-title":"MedjAust"},{"key":"ref_19","first-page":"22","article-title":"Towards a natitonal medicinal drug policy for Australia. Canberra: Consumers'","author":"Kwok, Y.S.; Sylvan, L.","year":"1989","unstructured":"Kwok YS, Sylvan L. Towards a natitonal medicinal drug policy for Australia. Canberra: Consumers' Health Forum of Australia, 1989:22-8.","journal-title":"Health Forum of Australia"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"664","DOI":"10.5694\/j.1326-5377.1989.tb136744.x","article-title":"Drug advertising","volume":"150","author":"Kwok, Y.S.; Sylvan, L.","year":"1988","unstructured":"Kwok YS, Sylvan L. Drug advertising. Medj Aust 1988;150:664.","journal-title":"Medj Aust"},{"key":"ref_21","first-page":"664","article-title":"Drug promotional problems. Medj Aust","volume":"150","author":"Harvey, K.","year":"1988","unstructured":"Harvey K. Drug promotional problems. Medj Aust 1988;150:664-5."}],"container-title":["BMJ"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"http:\/\/data.bmj.org\/tdm\/10.1136\/bmj.300.6720.307","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/syndication.highwire.org\/content\/doi\/10.1136\/bmj.300.6720.307","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,11]],"date-time":"2025-12-11T21:34:10Z","timestamp":1765488850000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.bmj.com\/lookup\/doi\/10.1136\/bmj.300.6720.307"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]]},"references-count":21,"journal-issue":{"issue":"6720","published-online":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1136\/bmj.300.6720.307"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/bmj.300.6720.307","relation":{},"ISSN":["0959-8138","1468-5833"],"issn-type":[{"type":"print","value":"0959-8138"},{"type":"electronic","value":"1468-5833"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[1990,2,3]]}}}