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Consumers are besieged daily by ads for prescription drugs, all beseeching you to "ask your doctor" for a given brand-name drug for an ailment that you might, or might not, actually have. Those ads don't always tell the whole story. They might, for example, play down or omit information about nondrug options, or imply that a drug works wonders for everyone when in reality it works only marginally better than a placebo. That's why we started the Consumer Reports AdWatch series. Our video commentaries on a sampling of direct-to-consumer drug ads are designed to give you the facts that the commercials leave out, so that you can be better informed when making health decisions. We hope that they're fun, too:
Direct to consumer (DTC) drug advertising is big business for a good reason--it works. In 2007 alone, drug companies spent $5,375,117,382 on advertising. Yes, that's $5.375 billion dollars. The chart below highlights 25 of the biggest spenders along with their sales, giving an indication of how much their ad spending has paid off (or not, in the case of Rozerem):
| Drug | Approved for | DTC advertising 2008 | Retail sales 2008 | Sales per DTC ad dollar spent |
| Advair diskus | Asthma | $172,974,000 | $3,572,473,000 | $20.65 |
| Plavix | Heart attack/stroke risk reduction | $169,780,000 | $3,796,221,000 | $22.36 |
| Cymbalta | Depression, anxiety, diabetic neuropathy | $156,733,000 | $2,170,162,000 | $13.85 |
| Ambien CR | Insomnia | $154,602,000 | $865,719,000 | $5.60 |
| Abilify | Schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression | $152,440,000 | $2,371,795,000 | $15.56 |
| Cialis | Erectile dysfunction | $141,834,000 | $555,080,000 | $3.91 |
| Lyrica | Fibromyalgia, seizures | $141,369,000 | $1,389,205,000 | $9.83 |
| Viagra | Erectile dysfunction | $122,487,000 | $920,051,000 | $7.51 |
| Flomax | Enlarged prostate | $115,581,000 | $1,236,963,000 | $10.70 |
| Lunesta | Insomnia | $108,874,000 | $771,019,000 | $7.08 |
| Crestor | High cholesterol | $106,904,000 | $1,676,553,000 | $15.68 |
| Symbicort | Asthma | $99,336,000 | $237,955,000 | $2.40 |
| Lipitor | High cholesterol | $98,357,000 | $5,880,128,000 | $59.78 |
| Valtrex | Shingles and cold sores | $91,984,000 | $1,684,192,000 | $18.31 |
| Nasonex | Seasonal allergies | $91,787,000 | $904,074,000 | $9.85 |
| Evista | Osteoporosis | $90,082,000 | $499,924,000 | $5.55 |
| Boniva | Osteoporosis | $84,444,000 | $512,179,000 | $6.07 |
| Chantix1 | Smoking cessation | $83,967,000 | $605,323,000 | $7.21 |
| Reclast | Osteoporosis | $80,503,000 | 4,966,000 | $0.06 |
| Spiriva | Asthma | $75,750,000 | $1,142,746,000 | $15.09 |
| Caduet | High blood pressure and cholesterol | $73,154,000 | 389,966,000 | $5.33 |
| Januvia | Type 2 diabetes | $71,163,000 | $913,501,000 | $12.84 |
| Singulair | Asthma and seasonal allergies | $70,866,000 | $2,898,060,000 | $40.89 |
| Enbrel | Rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis | $70,480,000 | $763,927,000 | $10.84 |
| Avodart | Enlarged prostate | $69,762,000 | $364,706,000 | $5.23 |
1. Ads were for MyTimeToQuit.com, a Pfizer Web site that invites visitors to learn about a prescription treatment option for quitting smoking. Those who click this link are then directed to the Web site for Chantix, Pfizer's smoking-cessation drug.
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