Direct-to-public advertising of prescription drugs, often disguised as "information", is growing rapidly in Europe, even though it is officially banned. The pharmaceuticals market is currently a free-for-all, where each company promotes its latest drug as if it were a cure-all.

To encourage patients to recognize the International Nonproprietary Names (INN) and to use it in their dealings with healthcare professionals is to provide them with a valuable tool.

This is the objective of the public information campaign promoting the use of International Nonproprietary Names, launched by the Medicines in Europe Forum and targeting consumers, patients and healthcare professionals.

The INN system allows healthcare professionals and patients to identify a drug precisely and with confidence, and to avoid potentially serious adverse effects due to confusion between drugs. With the INN, everything is simpler, clearer and more precise.

©La revue Prescrire 15 May 2007