A new study suggests that free drug samples, an effective marketing tool for the drug industry, do little to help the poor and may put children’s health at risk.
Researchers from Harvard medical school analyzed data from a federal survey, and found that in 2004 children in the lowest income group weren’t more likely than those in the highest group to get free samples — in part because poor children have less access to doctors overall. And uninsured children were more likely than those with insurance to get the samples.
Free samples are often given for new drugs that have less of a proven safety record than older medicines, one of the study’s authors told the New York Times. And samples sometimes lack specific instructions for children.
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