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Pharmaceutical companies must believe there are benefits from advertising, but just what these benefits are, and how they are measured, is not clear.

Little research has been done on the extent of the relationship between the pharmaceutical industry and medical students, and the effect on students of receiving gifts. Potential harms to patients are documented elsewhere; we focus on potential harms to students. Students who receive gifts may believe that they are receiving something for nothing, contributing to a sense of entitlement that is not in the best interests of their moral development as doctors. Alternatively, students may be subject to recognised or unrecognised reciprocal obligations that potentially influence their decision making. Medical educators have a duty of care to protect students from influence by pharmaceutical companies.

The AdWatch section of the Healthy Skepticism website (http://www.healthyskepticism.org/adwatch.asp) aims to improve medical decision-making by illuminating the techniques used in drug advertising. AdWatch draws on 20 years of dialogue about drug promotion plus ideas from many disciplines, especially logic, psychology and marketing.