June 2006 - Consumer Perceptions of Supplements Versus Drugs

It was with great interest recently, that we read an excellent research article from professors at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. The article, entitled “Turn On Versus Tune Out” from Wharton's Marketing Department found that consumers taking a prescription or OTC drug for a given condition are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors (e.g. eating more donuts and chips) – compared to supplement users, who are more likely to adhere to healthy lifestyle choices (e.g. exercising and eating their veggies).

According to Professor Lisa Bolton, lead author on the paper, “Consumers see the drug as a ‘get-out-of-jail-free card', which eliminates or reduces the risks of such bad habits as eating high-fat foods, excessive drinking or a sedentary lifestyle. Supplements, such as vitamins, minerals and herbs, on the other hand, surprisingly are much less likely to have this sort of “boomerang' effect.” Of particular interest to us, was the finding that subjects associated drugs with poor health and viewed supplement users as being healthier and more likely to follow a healthy diet and exercise regimen. In addition, the more effective the drug was perceived, the more “risk” a consumer was willing to take with his diet.

Researchers conducted 3 different experiments (with 364 subjects recruited from among University and health center staff and students) intended to gauge consumer perceptions of drug versus supplement messages – and the effects of those messages on subsequent health behaviors.

Drug marketing was found to “undermine risk perceptions and increase risky behavior” – with consumers in the poorest physical health making the poorest health choices after starting a drug regimen. The drug users basically “tuned out” complementary health-protective behaviors, while the supplement users, in contrast, “turned on” those health-protective behaviors as an important part of their overall lifestyle regimen.

For example, drug marketing induced consumers to engage in risky health behaviors (e.g. high fat eating) at a higher rate and engage in healthy behaviors (e.g. low cholesterol eating) at a lower rate – compared to supplements.

The authors acknowledged that “a supplement label, by its very name suggests that the remedy works in conjunction with other health protective behaviors” (such as healthy diet and regular exercise) – but they also found that drug marketing “prompts associations to poor health which lowers self-efficacy and leads consumers to look to external solutions for their health problems.”

From a public health perspective, our experience here at SupplementWatch certainly supports the finding that supplements tend to be more “empowering” to consumers and encourage them to engage in other complementary health practices. It's hard to argue with the wisdom of taking charge of one's own health future.

On the other hand, drug marketing, as found in this series of studies, tends to undermine the adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors and is more likely to backfire by encouraging consumers to “do/eat whatever they want” (because the drug has them “covered”).

We found it interesting that the subjects in these studies viewed supplements as “enhancing” to other body functions (68%) and a “natural” approach to health (36%), while drugs were viewed as being associated with “illness/disease” (55%) and with being a “non-natural” (15%) way to “alter body function” (22%).

Overall, this research shows us that drug marketing encourages consumers to ignore important aspects of healthy lifestyle – and actually increase poor lifestyle habits – because they believe the drug has “taken care of everything” and, in effect, taken the risk out of risky behavior. Consumers taking a drug to lose weight or reduce cholesterol levels, for example, would be more likely to eat more high fat foods – while supplement users would be more likely to exercise and cut calories.

We wholeheartedly agree with the authors that supplements and supplement marketing tend to remind consumers that the product is supplemental to other protective behaviors and that from a consumer welfare and public health perspective, the overall effects of increased supplement marketing (versus increased drug marketing) would be to promote health in the American population (one of the promises of DSHEA nearly 12 years ago).