Greater Controls on TV Drug Ads Sought

Amid a growing epidemic of prescription-drug abuse, some lawmakers are looking to stem the flood of television ads for prescription medications, the New York Times reported July 27.

The pharmaceutical industry spends billions of dollars annually advertising their products directly to consumers, but Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s (D-N.Y.) Say No to Drug Ads Act would eliminate the tax deductions for such ads. Meanwhile, Rep. James P. Roan (D-Va.) is seeking a ban on sexual aids like Viagra, citing decency standards for prime-time TV, and Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) wants to give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) power to ban ads for new drugs for a period of time until the marketplace demonstrates that they are safe and effective.

“You should not be going to a doctor saying, ’I have restless leg syndrome’ — whatever the hell that is — or going to a doctor saying, ’I have the mumps,’” said Nadler. “You should not be diagnosed by some pitchman on TV who doesn’t know you whatsoever.”

The Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers of America, an industry trade group, said previous attempts to ban such ads have foundered on free-speech concerns. The U.S. and New Zealand are the only nations in the world that allow direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs.

“On First Amendment grounds, I am not going to say we will ban” the ads, said Nadler. “But they should not be able to get taxpayers to subsidize it.”