Did you know that the drug companies that are making record breaking profits on the sale of drugs are also getting a tax break to advertise those drugs to the public?

Everywhere you look these days, you are constantly bombarded with advertisements designed to pique interest in a most unlikely consumer product: prescription drugs.

At a time when the safety and cost of such medications have become hot-button political issues, politicians, patients and those who tend to the nation's health are viewing these ads with a new wariness. The result is a growing national debate over how, when and even whether drug makers should appeal directly to the public when the recommendation of a drug has always been left up to the doctor. But, the amount of money involved is so high that even the AMA isn’t willing to stand up for the doctor’s traditional role in the prescription of medication.

Michael Guarini, a partner with the advertising leader Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, said "I hate to use the word 'slick,' but (drug advertising has become) too consumerized." He added, "there's not enough balance between risk and result."

The prescription drug advertising debate has finally gained more public awareness since the popular arthritis drug Vioxx was withdrawn from the market in September 2004 because of safety concerns. For many years, Vioxx was the most aggressively promoted drug on the market, with direct-to-consumer advertising spending reaching almost $300 million between 2000 and 2001.