Looking to master the quiet sneeze or get relief from those
itchy, watery eyes? If so, consider watching television, at least long enough
to catch an allergy commercial. Research by Professor Emir Kamenica,
with Robert Naclerio of the Pritzker School of Medicine, and Anup Malani of the
University of Chicago Law School, suggests these advertisements may improve the
efficacy of drugs for some allergy sufferers.
Pharmaceutical
companies spent $4.8 billion in 2006 alone on direct-to-consumer advertising in
the United States, four times more than they spent in 1996. The spending is
controversial, as commercials can motivate patients to seek prescriptions for
the drugs advertised, regardless of whether that’s medically necessary.
Kamenica, Naclerio, and Malani wondered if the commercials cause placebo-like
effects in patients.
Read more at Capital
Ideas: Itchy,
watery eyes? Try watching TV
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