FDA Panel Considers Toll-Free Number for TV Drug Ads

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For example, the potentially deadly cardiovascular side effects of the arthritis drug Vioxx weren't discovered until the drug had been on the market for several years.

The FDA does have a method for consumers to report adverse side effects from drugs. However, according to a Consumer Reports survey, most people who report serious side effects report them to their doctor; only 7 percent report them to the FDA, Foley said.

Direct-to-consumer advertising generates billions of dollars in sales for both drug companies and the television industry. In 1997, the federal government eased the rules on advertising on TV and radio, allowing drug companies to shorten the warnings on side effects in commercials. Since that time, drug companies have spent an estimated $14 billion advertising prescription medications on broadcast and cable TV, according to the Dow Jones Newswires.

Some recent direct-to-consumer drug ads have come under fire from consumer advocates. The drug makers Merck and Schering-Plough were criticized for promoting the cholesterol drug Vytorin, while not disclosing studies that questioned the drug's effectiveness. And Pfizer was criticized for ads promoting its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor that featured Dr. Robert Jarvik, who is not a practicing medical doctor, Dow Jones reported.

More information

For more on direct-to-consumer drug ads, visit the FDA.