Following the rules in marketing

In his recent letter to the editor1 Joel Lexchin alludes to the mechanism by which Canada's Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (CRBPC), formerly the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of Canada, enforces its Code of Marketing Practices, and he provides "2 recent examples" of ways in which "physicians and drug companies sometimes break the guidelines of their respective organizations."

Through his familiarity with our code, Lexchin is well aware of Section 12 (Enforcement), which provides for the adjudication, by our Marketing Practices Review Committee, of allegations of infractions of the code. Such allegations, supported by documented evidence, can be brought forward by an individual or organization encountering what they believe to be inappropriate behaviour in terms of our marketing code. In his letter Lexchin implies that he is in possession of such evidence, yet he did not see fit to bring the matters to the attention of the CRBPC.

One can understand why he did not bring the evidence to the attention of the CMA, since that organization's policy summary on physicians and the pharmaceutical industry2 does not provide for an enforcement mechanism. However, Lexchin's concern about the possible loss of the trust of the public and professions should have at least motivated him to bring the "examples" to our attention, particularly in view of the fact that our Marketing Practices Review Committee includes representation from the medical community, a fact of which Lexchin is also aware. Had he done so, he would have been helping to serve the best interests of his own constituency and would not have fallen into the category of those "health professionals [who did not bother] to complain."