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In a number of recent multi-billion dollar cases brought against cigarette manufacturers, plaintiffs have in part alleged that the cigarette manufacturers (1) conspired not to compete on the basis of health claims or the introduction of potentially safer cigarettes since the 1950s, and (2) engaged in fraudulent advertising by making implied health claims in advertisements selling ‘low tar’/‘light’ cigarettes. In this type of litigation, defendants’ actions could be due to alleged illegal behaviour as asserted by plaintiffs, or be the result of market forces that may have nothing to do with allegedly inappropriate acts. We examine the economic evidence relating to these allegations, taking into account some of the major influences on cigarette company behaviour. In particular, our analyses show that much of the cigarette manufactures’ behaviour can be explained by Federal Trade Commission and related government actions, rather than conspiracy or fraudulent acts. We find the economic evidence is inconsistent with an effective conspiracy to suppress information on either smoking and health or the development and marketing of potentially safer cigarettes. Regarding ‘lower tar’ and ‘light’ cigarettes, the economic evidence indicates that the cigarette manufacturers responded to government and public health initiatives, and that disclosing more information on smoking compensation earlier than the cigarette companies did would not have had any significant impact on smoking behaviour.

The purpose of this investigation is to add to the body of knowledge regarding consumer skepticism toward advertising in general, and toward pharmaceutical advertising in particular. The study was conducted in the U.S. and in Germany. Skepticism toward advertising for both prescription and non-prescription pharmaceuticals was analyzed. Additional variables explored include: health consciousness, product involvement with pharmaceuticals, satisfaction with information in pharmaceutical advertising, and the importance of pharmaceutical advertising as a source of information. Furthermore, differences in the cultural value of uncertainty avoidance between U.S. and German consumers were examined and related to skepticism toward pharmaceutical advertising. Three hundred and forty-one Americans and 447 Germans were surveyed. A significant finding of this research revealed that skepticism toward pharmaceutical advertising is lower than skepticism toward advertising in general. Results also indicated that consumers showed no difference in their level of skepticism toward advertising for prescription versus non-prescription drugs. This is a particularly relevant finding as it relates directly to the ongoing discussion in Europe regarding whether or not to lift the ban on advertising for prescription drugs. Skepticism toward pharmaceutical advertising was found to be significantly negatively related to involvement with pharmaceuticals, to satisfaction with the informational content of the advertisements, to satisfaction with the comprehensibility of the advertisements, and to the importance placed on advertising as a source of health information. Regarding cultural differences, U.S. consumers appear to be less skeptical toward advertising in general, and toward advertising for prescription and non-prescription drugs in particular, than German consumers. This may be due to the lower degree of uncertainty avoidance in the U.S. Differences between the two countries related to the additional variables examined in the study are addressed as well. Implications for consumer protection policies are discussed, and recommendations for advertisers of pharmaceutical products are provided. The authors provide a cultural explanation for differences in the degree of skepticism between U.S. and German audiences.

With the increasing dependence on market-based distribution of health-care resources in the USA, spending on health-care service advertisements directly targeting consumers has also increased. Previous research has shown that the ads fail to deliver information deemed essential by regulators. Nevertheless, the attitude of consumers toward health-care service advertising has been more positive than negative. The purpose of this study is to create a taxonomy of advertising information features to better describe the relationships between information features in the advertisements and consumer attitudes toward them.

A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 128 health-care consumers in a western state in the USA.

Factor analysis generated seven groups of information features. Among them, information features about access, cost and quality of care were rated as most helpful, whereas providers’ clinical qualifications and communication were rated least helpful. The advertising attitude measure was validated to contain two subscales, one regarding health-care service advertising and the other regarding physicians who advertise. People who highly rated the consumerism features had more positive attitudes toward health-care service advertising and people who highly rated provider clinical qualification features had more negative attitudes toward advertising physicians.

This study made methodological improvements in health-care service advertising research that would be crucial for its theoretical development. It also shed light on consumer characteristics and perceptions about information features that could influence their attitudes toward health-care service advertising.

The aim of this paper is to call for an increased focus on the ethics of direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising. This is important, not only to improve DTC prescription drug advertising, but also to inform DTC advertising of future medical advances.

This conceptual paper discusses two examples of medical advances – personal genetic testing services and surgically implanted medical devices – to explain how investigating the research of DTC prescription drug advertising can set the stage for more ethical advertising of future medical advances.

Specific issues related to health literacy, at-risk populations impacted by health disparities, and medicalization of issues common to aging relate to the DTC advertising of prescription drugs and other medical advances. Creative approaches to investigating these issues in the context of prescription drug advertising can enrich the debate about drug advertising, but also prepare researchers, policymakers, and consumers for future advertising of new medical developments.

The value of this paper is its call for increased focus on the ethics of DTC prescription drug advertising, to improve the current marketing environment but also lay the foundation for other healthcare marketing in the future.

Health information drives crucial consumer health decisions and plays a central role in healthcare markets. Consumers who are better-informed about smoking, diet, and physical activity make healthier choices outside the healthcare sector (Kenkel, 1991; Ippolito & Mathios, 1990, 1995; Meara, 2001). Better-informed consumers also interact differently with physicians and other healthcare providers (e.g., Cutler, Landrum, & Stewart, 2006). In addition to the immediate consequences for individual consumers, health economists have long recognized that information also has broader implications for principal–agent relationships and the functioning of healthcare markets.¹ More recent lines of research in health economics and medical sociology emphasize the potential role of consumer information in explaining health disparities associated with socioeconomic status (Deaton, 2002; Goldman & Lakdawalla, 2001; Glied & Lleras-Muney, 2003; Link & Phelan, 1995). Both health economists and medical sociologists stress that because of disparities in consumer information, rapid medical progress tends to be accompanied by increased disparities in medical treatment and health outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to examine advertising placed within Kai Tiaki: The Journal of Nurses of New Zealand. The periodization for this study is 1908-1929, a chronological time span and approach that incorporates the first issue of the Kai Tiaki in 1908 and ending 1929, thus representing the launch of the journal and first two decades of its production. During this period, New Zealand nursing was emerging as an organised and professionalised body of health-care workers. At the same time, New Zealand, Britain’s most distant “dominion”, was beginning to realise its own nationhood and growth.

The primary source of data was digitalised Kai Tiaki issues between 1908 and 1929. Each four issues for every year were analysed. All advertisements were coded (n = 1895), followed by a qualitative content analysis in which key themes were derived.

Five overarching themes were found. The two main themes were the proliferation of therapeutic “tonics” and the second the relationship of nurses to them that was profiled by advertisers. The three remaining themes were accommodations, lifestyle and the nurses “role” as nurse, handmaiden or mother. Conclusions discuss reasons for key findings, and, in particular, the reinforcement of the traditional nursing role, which was often at odds with the increased technological roles and responsibilities nurses were undertaking. In turn, advertisers saw the nursing profession as a new and potentially lucrative market of women with disposable income and influence in the health field.

To date, there is a scarcity of marketing analysis that examines advertising placed in trade journals and in particular for early twentieth century health-care professionals. Through a lens of advertising analysis, this study investigates the advertising nursing readership of the day was exposed to and the motives and tactics used by those interested in expanding both health-care worker and consumer markets through a singular strategy.

The study aims to investigate consumers' attitudes toward advertising by medical professionals, and how the attitudes vary among different demographic groups.

A survey using quota sampling was conducted. Altogether 1,297 adults aged 20 or above in Hong Kong filled in an online questionnaire in March 2012.

Consumers' attitudes toward advertising by medical professionals were in general favorable. Respondents reported that advertising by medical professionals provides consumers with information about the services and qualifications of practitioners. However, consumers were worried about misleading information in these advertisements. Respondents perceived strongly that advertising by medical professionals would lead to an increase in the price of services. Younger respondents and respondents with higher education were more sceptical toward advertising by medical professionals.

Medical professionals should put emphasis on providing consumers with relevant information of their services, expertise, and qualifications to assist consumers' information search. They should refrain from using price appeal.

This is the first study to examine consumers' attitudes toward advertising by medical professionals in a Chinese context.

Advertising can affect health‐related behaviors of young adults. However, little is known about this environmental influence on college campuses. The purpose of this paper is to create an inventory for assessing health‐related advertisements and use it to assess advertising on/near the campus of a major Northeastern university.

The inventory was developed from existing instruments, input from experts, and data collected from student focus groups. The instrument was pilot tested, refined, and used by three trained data collectors (inter‐rater reliability =87.5 percent) to assess the advertising in academic buildings (n=10), residence halls (n=3), libraries (n=2), recreation centers (n=3), student centers (n=2), dining halls (n=3), bookstores (n=2), bus stops (n=4), campus student listserves, and retail stores adjacent to campus.

Of the 130 advertisements, most common types were related to diet/nutrition (41.5 percent) and exercise/fitness (14.6 percent). An evaluation of advertising message polarity revealed 61.5 percent promoted positive health behaviors. Negative messages were mostly related to branded diet/nutrition ads (26 percent). Health‐related advertising on/near this university's campus mostly promoted good health practices in accordance to the university policies. However, improvements in developing university policies with regard to branded diet/nutrition ads on campus are warranted.

The study described in this paper was conducted at one time point at a single university. Future studies should examine seasonal variations and the usefulness of this instrument on other college campuses.

This valid data collection tool will be of benefit to other college campuses and policy makers who wish to identify how to improve campus‐related advertising policies to ensure they promote positive health behaviors.

Unlike traditional products and services, customer motivation to purchase green products/services may be due to non-marketing factors, such as their personal values about health. In this study, the authors aim to propose and validate an integrative model using both advertising attitude factors and health beliefs to explain purchase intention and word of mouth in the context of green marketing. The authors focus specifically on collectivist consumers as values and social norms that tend to be more salient in driving their decisions.

The model was tested empirically using a survey study with 308 Chinese consumers in Hong Kong. The data were analyzed using confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) and partial least squares structural equation modeling.

All health beliefs were significant predictors of green advertising attitude. Green satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between green advertising attitude and positive word of mouth for products and services with green advertising for collectivist Chinese consumers. Meanwhile, green satisfaction partially mediates the relationship between green advertising attitude and purchase intention. In addition, green brand equity partially mediates the green advertising attitude–purchase intention/positive word of mouth link.

The significant impacts of health belief factors on green advertising attitude present important implications to advertising managers in terms of the use of information appeal in promoting green products/services. Green brand equity should also be developed in order to optimize green advertising effectiveness, especially in the context of collectivist customers.

This research is one of the first few studies investigating the mediating role of green satisfaction and green brand equity for collectivist consumer behaviors based on the health belief model (HBM).