The FDA did not comment on whether or not this is the case.

Given that backdrop, Spiegel proposed that journal editors take responsibility by reviewing ads before they print them.

“Perhaps it would be appropriate for the medical journals to go the extra distance and help its readers by rating the ads,” he said.

HOW MUCH MONEY DO THEY BRING IN?

Dr. Paul Levine, editor in chief of the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head & Neck Surgery, said he has no role in reviewing ads, the revenue from which isn’t “overwhelming.”

His journal contributed ads to the new study and also published the findings.

While Levine said he thinks promotion to physicians is an important topic, he added that he still isn’t sure how to best deal with it.

“We need to figure out a methodology to better evaluate the veracity of these ads,” he told Reuters Health. “What is implied in the study is that it’s everybody’s responsibility to ensure that claims of any type are in fact true.”

Dr. Jonas Johnson, editor of Laryngoscope, had little to say about the findings. “Ads in med journals are legal. FDA,” he said in an email to Reuters Health.

Some editors, such as Rosenfeld, whose journal is the official publication of the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Foundation, scrutinize the ads they print, however. The journal runs between seven and ten ads per issue.

“As the editor in chief I am sent all advertisements to review,” he said. “When I sign off what I’m saying is I feel that the advertisers are providing a reasonable and fair representation of their product.”

By the same token, he readily rejects ads he finds are unfounded - which is made easier by the fact that the journal’s publisher SAGE, not the journal itself, makes money from printing the ads.

Still, that’s no excuse for blind trust in promotional claims.

“They are obviously looking to spin their product in the best light possible,” Rosenfeld said. “I think the bottom line from this study is caveat lector, let the reader beware.”

SOURCE: Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, online May 16, 2011.