Between 1971 and 1975, the government office that monitors drug companies issued an average of 60 citations a year for serious violations of drug-promotion laws  Between 1976 and 1980, the annual average for issuance of suchs citations was only 5
This decrease indicates that the government office was, on average, considerably more lax in enforcing drug-promotion laws between 1976 and 1980 than it was between 1971 and 1975
The decrease in the number of citations was not caused by a decrease in drug companies' violations of drug-promotion laws.