Canada DTC ban on trial over free speech

A Canadian court case with potentially momentous consequences for the marketing of drugs in Canada is underway in Ontario. The plaintiff, Canwest MediaWorks, has brought the law suit against Health Canada, over the restrictions on pharmaceutical advertising on television and in the print media.

The essential problem for Canadian media firms is that the country is next door to one of two that permit direct-to-consumer advertising, the USA, which has over 10 times the population size. For print media, the ban means that, in principle, magazines carrying drug advertisements in the USA have to be specially printed for the Canadian market to block out or replace the offending messages. This raises the cost of print media and creates a competitive advantage for any companies that flout the ban.