The Potential Impacts of Targeted Drug Advertising on Social Media

With an exponential rise in social media use combined with noticeable increases in drug advertisements, current drug market trends could lead to the normalization of specific prescription drugs for populations not approved to use them.

“With advertisements, the problem is, if you're promoting these drugs to people who wouldn't necessarily clinically need them, but you're leading them to believe you need them, you can create psychological dependency from using these drugs,” Luke Turnock, PhD, told Drug Topics.

Turnock is a senior lecturer at the University of Lincoln and has done extensive research into drug markets and lifestyle-enhancing drugs. Along with insights from Jenny Markell, PhD candidate at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Turnock helped us better understand what the notable trends were regarding social media drug advertisements in recent history.

From Turnock’s expertise in weight-loss and testosterone therapy drugs to Markell’s accelerated understanding of drug manufacturer trends, they explored the seemingly uncharted territories of social media advertising and what it could mean for future patients and consumers. Watch the full video to understand what exactly is being promoted to millions of people across the world and how drug manufacturers are leveraging social media to increase their profits.

Be sure to check out part 1 of our video series with Turnock and Markell: Deciphering the Increase in Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising. In this video, drug market experts discuss the rise in prescription drug marketing in recent decades, the common trends behind drug advertisements, and the public health impact that could result from these events.

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