The High Price of Pharmaceuticals

We all know the high price of pharmaceuticals. They are very expensive in the US, and in my opinion, way over prescribed. Why do so many people need so many medications? And how many people are on medications because of a different medication they are taking? Something doesn't seem right about that. Well, one reason that pharmaceuticals are expensive in the US has to be because they are allowed to advertise the drugs. And advertising works. I remember when they were first allowed to start advertising, and since that time, there are more people on more drugs. Again, advertising works. But how much are pharmaceutical companies spending on advertising? We have always been told that it's expensive to develop new drugs, but has advertising cut into their budget?

A recent article shows that pharmaceutical companies spend more on advertising than research. In fact, according to the article, they spend almost twice as much on adverstising as they do on research. And I have no idea what percent of their budget they spend lobbying......