The New Standard

FDA Complicit in Pushing Prescription Drugs, Ad Critics Say

by Shreema Mehta

In light of news that government regulators have neglected their duties to review pharmaceutical commercials, their proposed fix involves crawling even deeper into bed with drugmakers.

Apr. 20 – A blueprint animation of an older man enjoying his day tells viewers that the arthritis drug Celebrex carries the same cardiovascular warnings as several common pain medications. The actress Sally Field says she "feels great" after taking Boniva, a drug to treat osteoporosis. A beaver and Abraham Lincoln escape a man's dreams to chastise him for failing to take action for his sleep troubles, telling him, "We miss you."

Consumer and health groups say prescription-drug advertisements like these are often deceitful, interfere with the doctor-patient relationship, and lead to unnecessary drug use.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does impose some requirements on pharmaceutical advertisements, such as mandatory risk information and supposedly prohibiting "false and misleading" messages. Though drug companies are required to submit their advertisements to the FDA, the agency does not review them before they are released to the public. 

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