BMJ  2007;335:172 (28 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.39283.402512.1F

Letters

Journals and drug advertising

Beware advertising packages

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

In post-Soviet Russia, almost all journals depend mostly on advertisements.^{1 2} The most prosperous journals bring profits for their owners, and the owners then press the journals to raise more money through advertisements. This does not reduce the pressure on the content of the journal but introduces another—the demand for more profits.

All advertisers have some influence on the content of the journals to support their advertisements. And if one advertiser succeeds in this, it will not lead to complaints from their competitors. Rather the opposite: competitor advertisers will demand that the journal provides a similar service for them. In Russia these days the publication of advertisements with the supporting "scientific" paper is the usual advertiser's package.

Moscow Medical Academy, Moscow 101000, Russia

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Competing interests: None declared.

1. Smith R. Should medical journals carry drug advertising? Yes. BMJ 2007;335:74. (14 July.)[Free Full Text]
2. Williams G. Should medical journals carry drug advertising? No. BMJ 2007;335:75. (14 July.)[Free Full Text]

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