"SELL BABY SELL:" The Impact of Purdue Pharma’s Deceptive Marketing in Exacerbating the U.S. Opioid Epidemic

Abstract

According to the CDC, there are currently over 1,000 people daily who are taken to the Emergency Room due to misuse of prescription Opioids (CDC 2021). Given the significant amount of harm and damage Opioids have had on the United States, this thesis seeks to further explore Purdue Pharma’s contributions to the American Opioid Epidemic. More specifically, I focus my attention examining how Purdue Pharma revolutionized the pharmaceutical advertising industry through the lens of OxyContin. Through tracing the history of pharmaceutical advertising, I illustrate Purdue Pharma’s strategic marketing efforts aimed at boosting oxy sales, and in turn, driving profit for the company. While there has been academic literature discussing Purdue Pharma’s deceiving marketing strategies, this thesis seeks to reveal three additional marketing strategies that are often overlooked in literature yet play a critical role in contributing to the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.

First, I will explore in-depth how the company worked to redefine the meaning of pain as a ubiquitous medical problem that required pharmaceutical treatment. Secondly, I will investigate how the company aggressively published supporting materials that relied heavily on quantitative research in defense of the drug’s efficacy and safety to counter the mounting public health criticism regarding Oxy’s addictive and deadly side effects. Lastly, I demonstrate how the firm continued to overcome widespread criticism by diverting blame to physicians, patients, and the media. For each of the given strategies, this thesis will introduce a relevant anthropological framework that will be used to assess the effectiveness of each of the company’s marketing tactics. It is important to note that these manipulative marketing methods did not have a universal impact on American society, but rather caused proportionally more harm for certain racial and ethnic minorities - an impact that remains prevalent today.