Stigmatising pharmaceutical advertisements

Abstract

The general public holds stigmatising attitudes toward those with mental disorder, with schizophrenia being rated as highly associated with dangerousness and unpredictability (Crisp et al, 2000). The authors mention that health professionals may share some of these views. After reading their article, I was struck by a number of pharmaceutical advertisements elsewhere in the same issue of the Journal, that appeared to perpetuate a negative image of schizophrenia. My curiosity thus stimulated, I performed a cursory lunchbreak study examining the portrayal of people with mental disorder in pharmaceutical advertising in three recent issues of international psychiatric journals (Table 1). It was notable that all the advertising for antidepressants had positive imagery. Indeed this was also largely true for the ‘other’ category, with only one negatively rated advertisement.