Advertising rules stifle free market for prescriptions

IN EUROPE, it is illegal for drug companies to advertise prescription-only drugs to consumers. But the European Commission (EC) recently announced that it will allow pharmaceutical firms to disseminate "information" on their products over the airwaves, on the internet, and in print.

I think this change can't come soon enough. For too long, European bureaucrats have put cost considerations before patient care, keeping patients in the dark about alternatives that may best address their needs. Officials have, I think, paid lip serv...