title: Trends in exposure to televised prescription drug advertising, 2003-2011.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  TV accounts for more than half of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) spending in the U.S. The purpose of this study is to quantify average household exposure to branded and non-branded (help-seeking) televised prescription drug advertisements and describe variation over time and according to medication indication and geography.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2013, Nielsen TV ratings were compiled for prescription pharmaceutical advertising that aired between 2003 and 2011 for the top 75 U.S. media markets. All advertisements were coded as branded or help-seeking. Advertisements were further coded for one of eight prevalent indications (allergies, arthritis, asthma, erectile dysfunction, high cholesterol, smoking cessation, depression, and sleep disorder) or as "other."
  
  
  RESULTS
  Televised DTCA exposure increased from 2003 to 2007 and then declined 43% by 2011, to 111 monthly prescription drug advertisements per household. The examined indications were associated with varying amounts and patterns of exposure, with greatest declines among medications for allergies and sleep disorders. Help-seeking advertisements comprised 10% of total exposure, with substantial variation by indication.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Considerations of DTCA's effects on health care should take into account the shifting concentration of advertising across indications.
authors.affiliation: School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin. Electronic address: rkornfield@wisc.edu.
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kornfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, Johns Hopkins University; Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: G Caleb
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy; Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomic Research.
authors.forename: Dima M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Qato
authors.affiliation: Health Media Collaboratory, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Yoonsang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla; Department of Veterans Affairs of San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, California.
authors.forename: Jan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Hirsch
authors.affiliation: Health Media Collaboratory, Institute for Health Research and Policy, University of Illinois, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Sherry L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Emery
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000188:drug therapy; D000067088:Direct-to-Consumer Advertising; D006801:Humans; D055553:Prescription Drugs; D013690:Television; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D055553:Prescription Drugs