In a "Viewpoint" piece published in the March issue of the open-access journal PLoS Medicine, CHP/PCOR fellow Randall Stafford and co-author Elizabeth Almasi argue that despite the negative impacts of direct-to-consumer drug advertising, the ads may have a beneficial placebo effect that could increase the effectiveness of the advertised drug by creating positive expectations on the part of patients.

Stafford's comments are referenced in a March 29 article in Medical News Today and a March 27 United Press International article on the current debate among health policy experts on the value (or harm) of DTC advertising. According to the articles, if a currently proposed ban on direct-to-consumer ads passes in New Zealand, the United States would be the only industrialized country to allow such ads.