Advertising Perscriptive Medications

I have noticed something on TV and in newspapers here recently that is unusual, and in a way disturbing. It's the drug companies advertising their prescription drugs in those mediums. That's right! They place ads glorifying a drug that a patient can only buy with a doctor's prescription. Is wonder if this is happening elsewhere or just in the U.S.? Since the consumer is not allowed to buy prescription medications unless the doctor authorizes the purchase with a prescription, why place ads on TV and in the written news mediums urging the patient to use those drugs?
It implies that the physician must either be too incompetent or lacking knowledge about what medications to use for his patient.
Odd isn't it? The doctor sees the patient and tests him or her. Surely he would know what medicine to prescribe and would not need the "help" of drug companies giving advice to patients to 'ask" their doctor if that medicine isn't the best one.
So that explains why the pharmaceutical companies tell consumers about their drugs- so they will badger their doctors to prescribe it, even when it is not beneficial. Those drugs bring big profits to drug companies. If doctors don't like them, why not convince the patient to ask the doctors to give it to them anyway?
Doctors here are so afraid of lawsuits from patients that they may well patronize a patient by writing a prescription for the medication, even though they know it is of no or little benefit, and even though a better treatment will be lost to the use of the drug the patient has been convinced (by the TV and written medium ads) is the right treatment. After all, doctors are sued so often it might be good policy for the doctor to give the patient what he or she wants.