Prescription Pill-Popping By Far Florida's Leading Killer

The number of people killed by prescription drugs is a significant 20 percent increase over last year's 6,200 deaths attributed to overdoses. Much of the increase is due to a spike in oxycodone addiction. The increase in prescription-drug addiction continues a trend that began in Florida 10 years ago, when prescription drugs overtook illegal drugs as leading causes of drug-related deaths.

Interestingly enough doesn't "10 years ago" coincide with the date direct to consumer TV broadcast adverts were approved for pharma?

DATELINE IN THE 1990s:

In 1997 FDA released its draft guidance that effectively enabled the use of broadcast ads for DTC. This allowed advertisers to forgo the requirement that they scroll or read the entire brief summary, provided they met an "adequate provision" standard for risk information, but as shown it began over a decade earlier.

As a result of FDA's draft guidance, spending on DTC advertising increased from $220 million in 1997 to over $2.8 billion in 2002.

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A November 2006 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office report noted that "studies we reviewed found that increases in DTC advertising have contributed to overall increases in spending on both the advertised drug itself and on other drugs that treat the same conditions. For example, one study of 64 drugs found a median increase in sales of $2.20 for every $1 spent on DTC advertising. Consumer surveys suggest that DTC advertising increases utilization of drugs by prompting some consumers to request the advertised drugs from their physicians, who studies find are generally responsive to these requests.