I don't have the figures handy, but advertising costs are in the billions , many times what is spent on R&D Again, using same source linked in #29 (Stanford U.), advertising targeted directly to consumers, including T.V. ads, totaled $1.3 billion in 1998. Consider that the cost of developing a single new drug (for chronic use; short term usage drugs can be developed more cheaply) is rapidly approaching $1 billion, I don't think the advertising is so out of line.
Perhaps you should discard figures from 1998 and catch up.You'll find that in some years since , advertising dollars doubled or tripled from the year before . There is an article out there, that details the cost of developing a new drug in the 60-70 million range, minus the government help like tax incentives and development grants. And the cost of free drugs to patients or free drugs to the needy is recovered , either through sales and volume.
And yes , although it doesn't affect me, I think Americans are getting ripped off
http://fusa.convio.net/site/PageServer?pagename=Prescription_Drugs_Drug_Pricing