Banning Pharmaceutical Advertising

James W. Holsinger, Bush's nominee for Surgeon General, wants to ban pharmaceutical advertising. Such a ban would almost certainly raise the price of pharmaceuticals.

Advertising facilitates competition by allowing new products to more easily compete with old ones. For example, imagine there is an established drug for some treatment. If another firm developed a drug for the same ailment then it would initially face a problem of informing consumers about its product. Without advertising, therefore, fewer competing drugs will be developed. And with fewer competing drugs, the price of existing drugs will be higher.