Are you as tired as I am of repeatedly watching the same ad for a cholesterol-lowering drug or one for controlling asthma. Estimates vary but many suggest that the average person in the United States spends between 18 and 30 hours each year watching such drug advertisements on network television.
Some relief may be in sight. Leaders in both houses of Congress are considering legislation to ban direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements by pharmaceutical companies. Right now, only the U.S. and New Zealand permit DTC ads.
Spending by pharmaceutical companies on such ads has risen from an estimated $47 million in 1990 to $4.2 billion in 2005. This huge increase is largely due to the 1997 decision by the FDA to relax its rules governing prescription drug ads in the mass media.
According to FDA regulations, ads for prescription drugs must not be false or misleading, must not omit important facts related to their representation of the product, and must present a fair balance between the risks and benefits of the product.
Broadcast ads, for example, must include a "major statement of chief adverse effects and contraindications." Print ads must go further and include an "in-brief" summary of side effects, contraindications, and effectiveness. You have all seen - and probably been baffled by - the language and "small print" of these not-so-brief summaries, usually taken verbatim from the FDA-approved product label aimed at physicians and other health professionals.
Presently the FDA does not have the power to preview these ads, although most companies do send TV ads to the FDA before they are aired, to avoid later enforcement action. If an ad breaks the FDA's rules, the agency can send a regulatory letter and order the company to remove the ad if it does not make appropriate changes. But only a few such regulatory letters are sent each year because there's too little money and too few people to monitor too many ads.
Representatives of the pharmaceutical industry argue that these ads provide consumers with valuable information about ailments and their treatment. While there is some truth to that claim, most drug ads offer more of an emotional appeal than information. (Most of us probably tune out when the auctioneer-like voice begins to speed-talk through the drug's side effects.) The hoped-for result is that viewers and readers of these ads will encourage their doctors to prescribe these drugs, even if they are not necessary or more expensive than other drugs or treatments.
Nonetheless, these ads are mostly accurate and may serve a useful purpose. Rather than an outright ban on DTC ads, I would be satisfied with tighter regulations and more careful FDA review before they are aired.
In a future entry, I'll discuss adds for over-the-counter dietary supplements.
