[FairWitness]

pharmaceutical companies spend far more on advertising in the US than they do on R&D,

My understanding is that a large fraction of what is lumped under advertising is free samples given to Doctors who in turn give them to patients - in other words free drugs. Yes, that is "advertising", but it is not what most people think of when they hear the word advertising.

[Dubya]

Senior Health

FDA Regulations For Bringing in Medications From a Foreign Country

A 1998 amendment allows a United States resident to import up to 50 dosage units of a controlled medication without a valid prescription at an international land border. These medications must be declared upon arrival, be for your own personal use and in their original container. However, travelers should be aware that drug products which are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may not be acceptable for such importation.

It is against the law not to properly declare imported medications to U.S. Customs. lt is important to have medications in the originally-dispensed container;

[FairWitness]

Follow up to #24: A study by researchers at the Stanford Center for Research in Disease Prevention estimated that the industry spent $12.7 billion promoting its products in 1998. Of this amount, free samples given to physicians totaled $6.6 billion of retail value, representing 51.9 percent of the drug promotion expenditures.

[Snowyman]

I don't have the figures handy, but advertising costs are in the billions , many times what is spent on R&D and "freebies" are costs which are recovered, not given away. That also means free trips , dinners, tickets, etc. I read somewhere that there are over 600 registered paid drug lobbyists in Washington.

I don't know if this is accurate, perhaps dated , or who supports this site ,

, http://home.covad.net/~wacitizenaction/programs/rxmyths.htm