Drug Ads on TV Need Review
Remember that cryptic TV commercial that aired earlier this year--a windsurfer skims over a wheat field, lands and then mysteriously says, “Ask your doctor about Allegra”? As you may have guessed, Allegra is a prescription allergy medication, but its maker couldn’t say that on the air because of a 28-year-old Food and Drug Administration rule.
Last Friday, the FDA dropped the rule; now, pharmaceutical companies may say directly what a drug is and promote its benefits in commercials, provided they mention its major side effects and give a phone number or Internet address for more information.
In one respect, the new ads may help consumers lobby for their own health care needs. For instance, many HMOs pressure doctors to prescribe an over-the-counter allergy drug that can cause drowsiness instead of more expensive prescription allergy drugs that lack that side effect. The new FDA rules will allow manufacturers to point out this difference to consumers, who can then raise the issue with their doctors.
In other respects, the change could do harm, for the FDA lifted its ad guidelines without ruling on what kinds of major side effects a pharmaceutical company must disclose--thus allowing a drug company to mention cardiac arrest, say, but not liver damage.
The FDA should specify binding rules, not merely vague guidelines, for determining which major side effects must be disclosed. Congress, moreover, should require the agency to review each new TV ad individually. To make that possible, Congress would also have to grant the agency more funding, for the FDA’s oversight staff is too small even for its current responsibilities.
Numerous studies of drug ads in print media have found they often misleadingly portray drugs’ effectiveness and dangers. TV ads might be even more misleading. But ads that steer clear of deception could increase public knowledge about prescription drugs. By ensuring that medical information is conveyed responsibly, the FDA can ensure that consumer knowledge, not consumer confusion, reigns.
