The differences in product advertising on the Internet highlight disparities between American and British health cultures. Tap into the Internet and the user will find a vast range of health experts advertising their services and proclaiming forth upon every syndrome, illness, or disorder imaginable. Pick up any American magazine, especially of the lifestyle variety, and there is an abundance of drug advertisements for doctors, medical services, and prescription-only drugs. These drug adverstisments are of the type only in medical journals in Britain. Turn on the television and one is exposed to yet more drug companies'a advertisements or talk shows presenting celebrity physicians discussing their latest book. From the British point of view, it would seem that Americans are being bombarded with so much health information that their health-care decisions become overly complex.

Many conscientious American doctors think that this form of advertising is unethical and that is putting doctors in the position of having to defend their prescription choices to patients who are only superficially informed about the drugs they've been persuaded to want and may well not need. The problem becomes one of half-informed patient against professional doctor. Other doctors that it is a good thing for patients to be informed as possible, and if the internet, and adverstising in general, can promote this, then it is not a bad thing.

This portrait of American health consumer or patient is very different from the Brtitish counterpart- lining up, waiting for appointments at a National Health Service surgery, and worrying about wasting the doctor's time. Also very different is the still present attitude in Britain of doctor knows best, which often halts questioning or dicussion between patient and doctor regarding new developments in the medical field.

Although Britain's General Medical Council has recently changed its guidelines to allow doctors to advertise, the conservative medical profession generally holds strong view that such self-promotion is improper. However, advertisments provide a means through which much needed information may be passed on to people, so some regard this fear of being associated with commercialism as a form of snobbery. Change is also gradually happening in Britain with the increased use of Internet access medical websites, television dramas bringing medical terminology into the home, and a raised awareness of what is avaiable in health services.