Political Quotes

“I must respectfully disagree with my colleague's assertion on that point, for it is factually incorrect, although a commonly cited myth. According to recent findings by NDC Health, a health care information company, the pharmaceutical industry spends significantly more on research and development than it does on advertising. For 2001, $2.8 billion was spent on direct-to-consumer advertising. This is less than one-tenth of the $30.3 billion America's pharmaceutical industry spent on research and development. Moreover, I am someone who believes that a company is entitled to advertise and sell their product. Certainly, I don't know of any business that makes a product that doesn't tell anybody what their product is. If you look at the research and development cost of every other industry compared to their advertising cost, the pharmaceutical industry would probably stack up better than any other industry. You could say they are spending a lot on advertising. I would hope they are spending money to try to tell people what their products are about. Are you telling me they shouldn't be able to spend money to tell American consumers or physicians or hospitals what their product is and how it can be used? Of course, they should. They have an obligation to.”