drug advertising Archives - American Institute of the History of Pharmacy

Dose of History – A Brief History of Drug Advertising and Regulation

Prior to 1906, the medicine market looked very different than it does today. Prescriptions were not necessary and patients were generally able to self-medicate without consulting a doctor or pharmacist. The actual contents of medicines were not always known to the buyer as the manufacturers were not obligated to make their proprietary formulas public. As […]

Dose of History – Detailing and the Origins of DTCA

From the 1930s to the 1980s, ads for drugs were aimed almost exclusively at pharmacists and physicians. Typically, advertising was conducted in one of two ways: ads were placed in magazines directed at pharmacists or they were sold in-person by pharmaceutical marketing representatives, commonly known as detailers or detailmen. Detailers were (and still are) a […]

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AIHP Events

AIHP Calendar of Events

Upcoming events hosted by AIHP

November 6, 2025, 3:00 pm (Central): AIHP Annual Member Meeting
November 19, 2025, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Lauren Thompson, Kennesaw State University.
December 17, 2025, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Beyond medical pluralism: Interactions between physician-pharmacists and other craftspeople in the Graeco-Roman world with Laurence Totelin, Cardiff University.
January, 21, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Spring Semester Welcome Back Event: A critical reading of Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, hosted by Kelly O'Donnell, Towson Unviersity.
February 18, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Audrey Ke Zhao, UC Santa Cruz & CHSTM Research Fellow
March 18, 2026, 11:00 am (Central): Pharmacy History Working Group: Ryan A. Kashanipour, University of Arizona