Dr. Michael Kirsch, a gastroenterology at The Cleveland Clinic (CCF), criticizes the use of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising for more than just drugs. He argues that these companies are selling more than pharmaceuticals and other products to a public that cannot purchase them without a prescription from their doctor. These ads have been challenged for misleading the public and have been compared to car, cosmetics, and fast food advertisements. DTC drug advertising is banned in nearly every country in the world, but the United States, along with New Zealand, permitted it in 1997. Kirsch argues that the focus should be on health and lives, not advertising products like mattresses.