Book Description

ABSTRACT: Consumers in the United States are becoming self-reliant in their selection of medications as many former prescription drugs are now available to the public as over-the-counter medications. Meanwhile, misuse of over-the-counter drugs has also become a major problem affecting people of all ages. Advertising plays a significant role in providing drug information to consumers and influencing consumers' purchase decisions. This study examined the information content of over-the-counter advertisements in magazines and explored educational and promotional content levels. The study employed content analysis to analyze the advertising content. A total of 744 over-the-counter drug advertisements were found in 216 magazine issues over a 3-year period and analyzed using a coding scheme comprising 34 information cues. The findings revealed that, on average, an over-the-counter drug advertisement contained 6.63 information cues. Among the 6.63 cues, 2.82 were educational in nature and 2.70 were promotional in nature. Although no significant differences in the average numbers of educational and promotional cues were found during the 3-year period (i.e., 2008, 2009, and 2010), the interaction between year and type of cue was significant. Significant differences were found in both the usage of different types of educational cues and promotional cues by year, with symptoms/indications being the most frequently used educational cue and tangibles being the most frequently used promotional cue.