Indeed, that was surprising to hear, and a quick google search found me many countries in Europe where advertising drugs is legal, within some restrictive framework.
Both of those links say that there's a total ban on advertising prescription drugs to consumers, which is more specific than what the parent said but still very broad.
I’m sorry, yes, I should have specified prescription drugs, as that is what I meant. In context, though, this was what was discussed by the grandparent post: “[…] people go to their doctor asking for Rx by name […]”.
Examples:
Spain http://uk.practicallaw.com/0-618-5403#a202338
France http://uk.practicallaw.com/2-618-6699 )