It is also important to identify to what extent such advertisements play on human emotions to evoke positive purchase decisions. Other ethical issues would include the extent to which such DTC advertising encourages consumers to circumvent the physician-patient relationship. In other words, to the extent that such DTC advertising encourages "drug-shopping" behaviors among healthcare consumers is likely the extent to which such advertising could be regarded as unethical.

Most sick people are scared, many are in pain, and some of them may grasp at any claims from marketers concerning a potential cure. Conversely, denying these very same healthcare consumers with as much information about the current choices that are available to them also appears to be unethical, assuming that the targeted populations are in a position to make informed decisions.

Providing physicians with free samples of medicines certainly encourages their use, and some healthcare consumers may end up taking drugs they do not really need and experience the adverse side effects of these drugs as a result. The benefits of marketing prescription drugs directly to physicians are the increased competition and efficiency of the pharmaceutical industry that can result.
References

Advertising prescription drugs. (n.d.). Decision point, 335.