Drug Reps Must be Attractive, not Informed to be Hired

Drug companies spent nearly $30 billion on marketing in 2005, according to a recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine.

That includes almost $5 billion for direct-to-consumer television, print and Internet advertising, as well as billions in free drug samples, educational seminars, grants to patient groups and visits by sales reps to woo doctors. Consumers Union estimates there are 90,000 drug detailers plying their trade in the United States.