Introduction: In the article discribed current trends of advertising in the pharmaceutical market and foreign experience of legal regulation of these relations. As for the advertising of medicines identified it's symptoms, types, basic rules and prohibitions. Modern pharmaceutical companies can not successfully carry out economic activities without advertising. Besides we can mention some fundamental changes in society (information overload, universal access to internet, social media, freedom of movement of goods, labor and finance), also self-medication becomes more popular. At the same time, the number of deaths after improper and uncontrolled use of drugs ranks fifth in the world among the causes of death.
Aim: Investigate current trends of advertising on the pharmaceutical market, find advertising signs, basic restrictions and prohibitions on advertising of medicines, as well as foreign experience of legal regulation of these relations.
Material and methods: Despite the fact that pharmaceutical advertising were studied by such scholars as M. Abraham, L. Bradley, C. Dunn, J. Donoh'yu, D. Castro, M. Lipski, K. Taylor and others, number of issues related features of drug advertising, remained without proper theoretical studies.
Results: Based on the analysis can come to the conclusion that advertising of medicinal products are the subject of special attention from the state. Drugs, unlike other products, are a group of specialized consumer products. Risks increase when patients under the influence of «aggressive» advertising resort to self-medication. If a complete ban on advertising of medicines is inappropriate, you should set stricter requirements for the content of advertising and product placement rules. That is, in the national legislation to implement regulatory requirements of Directive 2001/83 / EC.
Conclusions: Legal regulation of drug advertising can be improved by such legal means: - should provide for a mechanism of public control over the observance of ethical standards in the advertising of medicinal products; - Prohibit the advertising of medicines for children, as well as drugs for the treatment of infectious, parasitic diseases and pathogens of these diseases, chronic insomnia, cardiovascular diseases, and those costs are reimbursed by government programs or trade names may lead to mix with prescription drugs; - Adopt ethical standards (codes) promotion of drugs for pharmaceutical companies; - Advertising to the public shall not contain any reference to cost or pricing features for medicines.
Keywords: Directive 2001/83/EC; OTC drug regulation; drugs; prescription; prescription drug; advertising.