Calling Out Commercialism

As social media ‘influencers,’ patients are getting a voice. And pharma is ready to pay up
STAT
KATE SHERIDAN

Anne Marie Ciccarella is not a doctor, though she spends a great deal of time with them. She’s not a researcher, though she routinely pores over scientific papers on cancer. And even though she spent most of her career at an accounting firm, she’s getting paid by drug companies for her opinions.

Ciccarella is one of a growing number of people who have leveraged their experiences as patients and the loyal followings they’ve built on social media into a career, no matter how small their audience.

For years, so-called influencers — celebrities, former reality television contestants and sometimes, former lawyers or other professionals — have hawked diet teas and hair products everywhere from Facebook to Snapchat. And now, pharma is catching on.

An entire industry has cropped up to link drug makers with the industry’s own version of an influencer — people, usually patients, who have small but devoted followings and who might be willing to promote their products or share valuable insights about the patient community. Ciccarella, for example, is one of nearly 100,000 such influencers on the rosters of Wego Health, one of a handful of companies that essentially act a patient influencer talent agency.

It’s a lucrative new frontier for drug advertising — and for patients, too, who benefit from close contact with the drug maker and, often, a fee. But it is also an increasingly regulated frontier, and one with ethical quandaries that some experts say the drug industry hasn’t fully considered.

“What has become obvious now is that micro-influencers, folks with smaller communities can have a dramatic impact on people’s behavior,” said Jack Barrette, the founder and CEO of Wego Health.

Read more: https://www.statnews.com/2018/11/13/patient-influencers-get-a-voice-and-pharma-is-ready-to-pay-up/

Beer and spirits feature in HALF of all TV programmes as campaigners call for tighter advertising restrictions on alcohol

Teenage binge drinking is being fuelled by half of all peak time TV featuring booze including popular soaps, research suggests.

Alcohol is seen in more than 50 per cent of all programmes and 50 per cent of adverts in peak viewing times, the analysis found.

It is estimated that the rate of alcohol consumption in those over 15 in the UK is the eighth highest in Europe.

Campaigners say advertising rules should be tightened on television to avoid teenagers becoming so familiar with alcohol.

Read more: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6316729/Young-people-drinking-alcohol-HALF-peak-time-TV-new-study-shows.html

E-cigarette maker Juul boosts lobbying spend amid regulatory crackdown
CNBC
Angelica LaVito

Leading e-cigarette manufacturer Juul spent half a million dollars on lobbying last quarter — up 167 percent from the previous quarter — as regulators weigh restrictions on the industry to stem a surge in teens using the devices.

In the third quarter, Juul spent $560,000, according to a lobbying disclosure form. That compares with the $210,000 it spent in the previous quarter, according to a filing. The company focused its efforts on e-cigarette and vaping regulation, as well as tariffs on products manufactured in China, it said in the disclosure.

However, the $560,000 is half of the amount the company initially reported spending Tuesday. The company filed an amendment correcting the figure, Juul spokeswoman Victoria Davis told CNBC.

Juul has beefed up its Washington operations amid growing scrutiny that could threaten its business. It has hired Tevi Troy, deputy Health and Human Services secretary in the George W. Bush administration; Jim Esquea, an assistant HHS secretary in the Obama administration; and Ted McCann, a senior policy advisor to House Speaker Paul Ryan, among others.

Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/23/juul-e-cigarette-maker-boosts-lobbying-spending-as-fda-cracks-down.html