Editor—I wish to express my anger and concern that advertising space on the wrapper around the clinical research edition of the BMJ (issues of 3 and 10 May) was sold to promote donepezil hydrochloride (Aricept). This is the first time that I have been aware of a promotion of this nature, and I find this form of advertising disturbing. While I appreciate that the BMJ generates necessary income from pharmaceutical companies and I can deal with advertisements within the journal, I find that to be faced by a paper strip on top of the BMJ that has to be forcefully removed before one can even read the contents page is irritating and intrusive. No doubt because of this, it is a successful marketing ploy and generates enormous amounts of income. As a general policy, however, I hope that the journal will reconsider accepting this type of advertisement, as I …
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A 1997 study studied this question.