I kinda thought it was clear this is about the USA specifically. I should have written "if people (in the USA) were shopping for themselves"
ChairmanPoo is Spanish (as in, Iberian), and IIRC, works in Britain right now.
Why would anyone think you were talking about specifically American when the guy you were accusing of accepting kickbacks from Big Pharma is not, uh, American?
That's why I - already mentioned - right near the start that I
wasn't talking about Europe.
But GSK talking medical practitioners out for an expensive meal is an attempt at kickbacks, they just can't be as blatant about it as they can in the USA. The fact that she identified herself as a representative of GSK and is providing perks is enough: that's marketing. It cannot be mere coincidence that GSK is doing something over there that sounds identical to things that have been banned in some states such as California because they influence American doctors.
For example, one of the current things is that some US state law now bans pharma company reps from giving doctor's meals at conferences, because studies show that giving even one expensive free meal can influence doctor's prescription habits.
This is the exact scenario ChairmanPoo described. I construed it to be the same, because it's exactly the same. GSK does the same marketing tactics in the USA, and gets slammed for them. I'm not going to assume that when GSK appears to be doing the exact same things in Europe, it's pure as the driven snow, because "Europe". The company is the same, and doctors are still individuals, capable of being influenced by the same tactics, and the tactics are the same.