Consumers' Association, 2 Marylebone Road, London NW1 4DF, UK, Tel: +44 (0) 20 7770 7681, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7770 7600, Email: jackie.glatter@which.co.uk

Received 1 October 2003.

Abstract

Recent legislative proposals from the European Commission to relax the prohibition on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medicines in the EU have generated increased debate internationally over the role of the pharmaceutical industry in relation to promotion, information and advertising and the impact of its activities on the public. It is argued that changing information technology and healthcare environments are leading people to take more direct control over their healthcare, although without the necessary health-literacy and critical appraisal skills to do so in a fully informed way. A comprehensive approach to patient information is proposed that would better equip people to take a more active and informed role in both self-care and shared decision making in relation to health, illness and drug and non-drug treatments.