You probably have seen many consumer advertisements for prescriptions drugs—on TV, in magazines, or online. Although those ads are expensive, did you know that in 2010, pharmaceutical companies actually spent more money advertising to healthcare professionals than they spent advertising to consumers?

Here at the FDA, our Office of Prescription Drug Promotion monitors the information that pharmaceutical companies give to healthcare professionals about prescription drugs. We want to make sure the information your doctor or prescriber receives is truthful and not misleading because they may use it when deciding what medicines to prescribe to you, their patient.

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