Complaints, Complainants, and Rulings Regarding Drug Promotion in the United Kingdom and Sweden 2004–2012: A Quantitative and Qualitative Study of Pharmaceutical Industry Self-Regulation
Fig 1
Self-regulatory schemes in the United Kingdom and Sweden.
Both countries have a dual-structure self-regulatory system. Complaints emerge from either industry or non-industry sources. In the former case, companies must first attempt to settle disagreements through inter-company dialogue. The Code of Practice (CP) Panel in the UK (A) and the IGM in Sweden (B) impose economic sanctions on violating companies and also publicize rulings. In addition, the IGM may require a company to issue a corrective statement. The CP Appeal Board and the NBL deal with appeals. The CP Panel can also report any company to the CP Appeal Board whose conduct under the Code is of special concern. The CP Appeal Board has a greater range of non-economic disciplinary measures at its disposal than does the NBL. The respective industry trade group may discipline companies in extreme cases (not shown). NGOs, non-governmental organizations.