From Medpage Today: “HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, MD, MPH, would seemingly like us to believe that they are strong-arming pharmaceutical companies into ending misleading marketing practices and instead supplying the public with good, honest information about their drugs. But recent actions are unlikely to get anywhere near that goal.
Much has been made of the executive order and HHS and FDA announcement earlier this month of a “major reform of pharmaceutical advertisements that will require drug companies to include full safety warnings during their direct-to-consumer ads.”
Before 1997, direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising was legal but full safety information was required, so lengthy broadcast ads were not feasible. After FDA changed the regulations so that only a few major risks need be mentioned, as long as a viewer was referred to a site with full information, broadcast ads became ubiquitous. The recent executive order aims to return to the pre-1997 era of full safety disclosure.
However, pharmaceutical ads already contain some risk information; it’s doubtful that additional warnings, especially when happy images are being displayed while risks are being described, will dim the enthusiasm of consumers. And it’s unreasonable to expect accurate health information from advertising. The entire purpose of ads is to increase demand for a product and — cost aside — pharmaceutical ads are brilliant examples of creativity in advertising.
So, curbing DTC drug advertising is unlikely to achieve the goal of curbing excessive prescriptions or rising drug spending. Instead, regulatory actions should focus on banning disease awareness campaigns aimed at consumers.”
