Analysis of advertising material distributed through pharmacies and drugstores

Abstract

A documental analysis was conducted to evaluate advertising material distributed through pharmacies and drugstores according to their compliance with Resolutions n. 102/2000 and 96/2008 of the Collegiate Board of Brazil's National Agency for Sanitary Surveillance. Brochures distributed through five pharmacies and drugstores in the city of Tubarão, Southern Brazil, were collected between May and November 2008. The 17 analyzed brochures advertised 2,444 products, of which 680 were medicines. Of these, 13.7% were controlled drugs, half of them had no registration number with the Ministry of Health and 77.9% had a registration number that did not match. Information on drug indications and safety were omitted. The results showed that the drug advertising materials were not in accordance with the aforementioned resolutions.