A Critical Analysis of Claims and Their Authenticity in Indian Drug Promotional Advertisements

Table 1

Examples of false claims made in drug advertisements.

1	Tiapride	Claim	61% improvement in cognitive impairment with tiapride as compared to 26.3% with quetiapine [19]
		Analysis	The claim was based on a referenced study which dealt with tiapride versus haloperidol and tiapride versus placebo in elderly patients with cognitive impairment and not quetiapine
2	Combination of thiocolchicoside, aceclofenac, and paracetamol	Claim	Thiocolchicoside is safe and nonsedating muscle relaxant
		Analysis	(i) Primary adverse effects with thiocolchicoside include somnolence, vasovagal attack, and hepatic toxicity [20]; (ii) There is no reference in support of this claim
3	Rabeprazole plus diclofenac	Claim	Rabeprazole is ideal for prophylactic use in NSAIDS in high risk patients
		Analysis	(i) Lansoprazole has been recommended in high risk patients prone to ulcers and not rabeprazole [21, 22]; (ii) Irretrievable reference
4	Diclofenac	Claim	Lesser incidence of GI toxicity than nonselective NSAIDS such as indomethacin
		Analysis	GI symptoms are most common adverse effects observed with diclofenac with about 2% people withdrawing from treatment due to these side effects [23]