FDA panel calls for study on effects of DTC ads on consumers

ROCKVILLE, Md. A Food and Drug Administration panel has said that direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs need to be clear and direct and that the government needs to study the effects the ads have on customer behavior, especially the elderly and minorities, according to Reuters.

Data shows that advertisements for drugs prompt people to see their doctors, but it is not clear if consumers understand potential benefits and risks of the drugs being promoted by pharmaceutical companies.

Panelist Michael Goldstein, associate director at the nonprofit group the Institute for Healthcare Communication, told the FDA that it should find ways to tackle “the woefully inadequate evidence we have about what ... direct-to-consumer advertising is actually doing.”

Legislation that took effect in March allows the FDA to ask to review ads before the public sees them and to impose fines if an ad is misleading. It also allowed the FDA to study the effect of such advertising on the public.

U.S. lawmakers are investigating whether drug companies use marketing tricks to mislead consumers, especially through television commercials. Researchers have said drug companies use gimmicks such as small type, fast speech and flashy graphics to emphasize benefits and downplay risks.